WorldWideScience

Sample records for performance operations group

  1. Peer groups and operational cycle enhancements to the performance indicator report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stromberg, H.M.; DeHaan, M.S.; Gentillon, C.D.; Wilson, G.E.; Vanden Heuvel, L.N.

    1992-01-01

    Accurate performance evaluation and plant trending by the performance indicator program are integral parts of monitoring the operation of commercial nuclear power plants. The presentations of the NRC/AEOD performance indicator program have undergone a number of enhancements. The diversity of the commercial nuclear plants, coupled with continued improvements in the performance indicator program, has resulted in the evaluation of plants in logical peer groups and highlighted the need to evaluate the impact of plant operational conditions on the performance indicators. These enhancements allow a more-meaningful evaluation of operating commercial nuclear power plant performance. This report proposes methods to enhance the presentation of the performance indicator data by analyzing the data in logical peer groups and displaying the performance indicator data based on the operational status of the plants. Previously, preliminary development of the operational cycle displays of the performance indicator data was documented. This report extends the earlier findings and presents the continued development of the peer groups and operational cycle trend and deviation data and displays. This report describes the peer groups and enhanced PI data presentations by considering the operational cycle phase breakdowns, calculation methods, and presentation methods

  2. ALMA Array Operations Group process overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrios, Emilio; Alarcon, Hector

    2016-07-01

    ALMA Science operations activities in Chile are responsibility of the Department of Science Operations, which consists of three groups, the Array Operations Group (AOG), the Program Management Group (PMG) and the Data Management Group (DMG). The AOG includes the Array Operators and have the mission to provide support for science observations, operating safely and efficiently the array. The poster describes the AOG process, management and operational tools.

  3. Interagency mechanical operations group numerical systems group

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-09-01

    This report consists of the minutes of the May 20-21, 1971 meeting of the Interagency Mechanical Operations Group (IMOG) Numerical Systems Group. This group looks at issues related to numerical control in the machining industry. Items discussed related to the use of CAD and CAM, EIA standards, data links, and numerical control.

  4. Operator performance in non-destructive testing: A study of operator performance in a performance test

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Enkvist, J.; Edland, A.; Svenson, Ola [Stockholm Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Psychology

    2000-05-15

    In the process industries there is a need of inspecting the integrity of critical components without disrupting the process. Such in-service inspections are typically performed with non-destructive testing (NDT). In NDT the task of the operator is to (based on diagnostic information) decide if the component can remain in service or not. The present study looks at the performance in NDT. The aim is to improve performance, in the long run, by exploring the operators' decision strategies and other underlying factors and to this way find out what makes some operators more successful than others. Sixteen operators performed manual ultrasonic inspections of four test pieces with the aim to detect (implanted) cracks. In addition to these performance demonstration tests (PDT), the operators performed independent ability tests and filled out questionnaires. The results show that operators who trust their gut feeling more than the procedure (when the two come to different results) and that at the same time have a positive attitude towards the procedure have a higher PDT performance. These results indicate the need for operators to be motivated and confident when performing NDT. It was also found that the operators who performed better rated more decision criteria higher in the detection phase than the operators who performed worse. For characterizing it was the other way around. Also, the operators who performed better used more time, both detecting and characterizing, than the operators who performed worse.

  5. Operator performance in non-destructive testing: A study of operator performance in a performance test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Enkvist, J.; Edland, A.; Svenson, Ola

    2000-05-01

    In the process industries there is a need of inspecting the integrity of critical components without disrupting the process. Such in-service inspections are typically performed with non-destructive testing (NDT). In NDT the task of the operator is to (based on diagnostic information) decide if the component can remain in service or not. The present study looks at the performance in NDT. The aim is to improve performance, in the long run, by exploring the operators' decision strategies and other underlying factors and to this way find out what makes some operators more successful than others. Sixteen operators performed manual ultrasonic inspections of four test pieces with the aim to detect (implanted) cracks. In addition to these performance demonstration tests (PDT), the operators performed independent ability tests and filled out questionnaires. The results show that operators who trust their gut feeling more than the procedure (when the two come to different results) and that at the same time have a positive attitude towards the procedure have a higher PDT performance. These results indicate the need for operators to be motivated and confident when performing NDT. It was also found that the operators who performed better rated more decision criteria higher in the detection phase than the operators who performed worse. For characterizing it was the other way around. Also, the operators who performed better used more time, both detecting and characterizing, than the operators who performed worse

  6. Control room human engineering influences on operator performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finlayson, F.C.

    1977-01-01

    Three general groups of factors influence operator performance in fulfilling their responsibilities in the control room: (1) control room and control system design, informational data displays (operator inputs) as well as control board design (for operator output); (2) operator characteristics, including those skills, mental, physical, and emotional qualities which are functions of operator selection, training, and motivation; (3) job performance guides, the prescribed operating procedures for normal and emergency operations. This paper presents some of the major results of an evaluation of the effect of human engineering on operator performance in the control room. Primary attention is given to discussion of control room and control system design influence on the operator. Brief observations on the influences of operator characteristics and job performance guides (operating procedures) on performance in the control room are also given. Under the objectives of the study, special emphasis was placed on the evaluation of the control room-operator relationships for severe emergency conditions in the power plant. Consequently, this presentation is restricted largely to material related to emergency conditions in the control room, though it is recognized that human engineering of control systems is of equal (or greater) importance for many other aspects of plant operation

  7. 2005 Annual Operations Report for INTEC Operable Unit 3-13, Group 1, Tank Farm Interim Action

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D. Shanklin

    2006-01-01

    This annual operations report describes the requirements followed and activities conducted to inspect, monitor, and maintain the items installed during performance of the Waste Area Group 3, Operable Unit 3-13, Group 1, Tank Farm Interim Action, at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center. This report describes inspection and monitoring activities for the surface-sealed areas within the tank farm, concrete-lined ditches and culverts in and around the tank farm, the lift station, and the lined evaporation pond. These activities are intended to assure that the interim action is functioning adequately to meet the objectives stated in the Operable Unit 3-13, Record of Decision for the Group 1, Tank Farm Interim Action, (DOE/ID-10660) and as amended by the agreement to resolve dispute, which was effective in February 2003

  8. 2006 Annual Operations Report for INTEC Operable Unit 3-13, Group 1, Tank Farm Interim Action

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D. E. Shanklin

    2007-01-01

    This annual operations report describes the requirements followed and activities conducted to inspect, monitor, and maintain the items installed during performance of the Waste Area Group 3, Operable Unit 3-13, Group 1, Tank Farm Interim Action, at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center. This report covers the time period from January 1 through December 31, 2006, and describes inspection and monitoring activities for the surface-sealed areas within the tank farm, concrete-lined ditches and culverts in and around the tank farm, the lift station, and the lined evaporation pond. These activities are intended to assure that the interim action is functioning adequately to meet the objectives stated in the Operable Unit 3-13, Record of Decision for the Group 1, Tank Farm Interim Action (DOE/ID-10660) as described in the Group 1 Remedial Design/Remedial Action Work Plan (DOE/ID-10772)

  9. Development of the Operational Events Groups Ranking Tool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simic, Zdenko; Banov, Reni

    2014-01-01

    Both because of complexity and ageing, facilities like nuclear power plants require feedback from the operating experience in order to further improve safety and operation performance. That is the reason why significant effort is dedicated to operating experience feedback. This paper contains description of the specification and development of the application for the operating events ranking software tool. Robust and consistent way of selecting most important events for detail investigation is important because it is not feasible or even useful to investigate all of them. Development of the tool is based on the comprehensive events characterisation and methodical prioritization. This includes rich set of events parameters which allow their top level preliminary analysis, different ways of groupings and even to evaluate uncertainty propagation to the ranking results. One distinct feature of the implemented method is that user (i.e., expert) could determine how important is particular ranking parameter based on their pairwise comparison. For tools demonstration and usability it is crucial that sample database is also created. For useful analysis the whole set of events for 5 years is selected and characterised. Based on the preliminary results this tool seems valuable for new preliminary prospective on data as whole, and especially for the identification of events groups which should have priority in the more detailed assessment. The results are consisting of different informative views on the events groups importance and related sensitivity and uncertainty results. This presents valuable tool for improving overall picture about specific operating experience and also for helping identify the most important events groups for further assessment. It is clear that completeness and consistency of the input data characterisation is very important to get full and valuable importance ranking. Method and tool development described in this paper is part of continuous effort of

  10. Simulator experiments: effects of NPP operator experience on performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beare, A.N.; Gray, L.H.

    1984-01-01

    During the FY83 research, a simulator experiment was conducted at the control room simulator for a GE Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) NPP. The research subjects were licensed operators undergoing requalification training and shift technical advisors (STAs). This experiment was designed to investigate the effects of senior reactor operator (SRO) experience, operating crew augmentation with an STA and practice, as a crew, upon crew and individual operator performance, in response to anticipated plant transients. Sixteen two-man crews of licensed operators were employed in a 2 x 2 factorial design. The SROs leading the crews were split into high and low experience groups on the basis of their years of experience as an SRO. One half of the high- and low-SRO experience groups were assisted by an STA. The crews responded to four simulated plant casualties. A five-variable set of content-referenced performance measures was derived from task analyses of the procedurally correct responses to the four casualties. System parameters and control manipulations were recorded by the computer controlling the simulator. Data on communications and procedure use were obtained from analysis of videotapes of the exercises. Questionnaires were used to collect subject biographical information and data on subjective workload during each simulated casualty. For four of the five performance measures, no significant differences were found between groups led by high (25 to 114 months) and low (1 to 17 months as an SRO) experience SROs. However, crews led by low experience SROs tended to have significantly shorter task performance times than crews led by high experience SROs. The presence of the STA had no significant effect on overall team performance in responding to the four simulated casualties. The FY84 experiments are a partial replication and extension of the FY83 experiment, but with PWR operators and simulator

  11. Correlation of cutting fluid performance in different machining operations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    De Chiffre, Leonardo; Belluco, Walter

    2001-01-01

    An analysis of cutting fluid performance in different metal cutting operations is presented, based on experimental investigations in which type of operation, performance criteria, work material, and fluid type are considered. Cutting fluid performance was evaluated in turning, drilling, reaming...... investigated. Results show that correlation of cutting fluid performance in different operations exists, within the same group of cutting fluids, in the case of stainless steel as workpiece material. Under the tested conditions, the average correlation coefficients between efficiency parameters with different...... operations on austenitic stainless steel lied in the range 0.87-0.97 for waterbased fluids and 0.79-0.89 for straight oils. A similar correlation could not be found for the other workpiece materials investigated in this work. A rationalisation of cutting fluid performance tests is suggested....

  12. School performance in cholesteatoma-operated children in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Djurhuus, Bjarki; Hansen, Tom Giedsing; Pedersen, Jacob Krabbe

    2016-01-01

    Cholesteatoma in childhood had no long-term effect on school performance for the majority who completed lower secondary school. Aim To investigate whether individuals operated on for cholesteatoma in childhood have impaired school performance in adolescence. Methods All children born in Denmark...... between 1986-1991 with cholesteatoma surgery performed before the age of 15 years were included (cholestetaoma group). A control group consisting of a 5% random sample of all children born in Denmark during the same period was used for comparison. Final marks (average, mathematics, Danish, and English...

  13. Compact groups of positive operators on Banach lattices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jeu, de M.F.E.; Wortel, M.R.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we study groups of positive operators on Banach lattices. If a certain factorization property holds for the elements of such a group, the group has a homomorphic image in the isometric positive operators which has the same invariant ideals as the original group. If the group is

  14. Working group on unbundling of electricity trade operations 2. A group report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-09-01

    The current unbundling of operations in accounts has proved inadequate. No formula or model that could be made binding by provisions have been defined for unbundled accounts. In addition, unbundling can draw a distinct line between commercial activities and network operations, which have assumed various authoritative functions. Against this background, the need for clearer unbundling has become more marked. The working group suggests that the current provisions on unbundling of trade operations should be tightened and that the unbundling should be made clearer especially in terms of allocation of joint costs. For this, the necessary preparations by the authorities should be initiated urgently. At the same time, the working group proposes that network operations should be unbundled from other operations by incorporation or by unbundling them into a separate public utility. The smallest electric utilities should be exempted from the obligation of incorporating network operations. According to the working group, the lower limit could be fixed e.g. at 70 GWh a year. The working group also suggests that the licensees must own the electricity networks they operate. The licensees could not rent their networks from the mother company nor lease them from a financing company. The model proposed by the working group would redress the major problems connected with the supervision of the electricity market. The monopoly, i.e. the electricity network operations, under the supervision of the Electricity Market Authority could thus be unbundled. This would improve the functioning of the market and facilitate the supervision. However, the model would not abolish the tax concession of municipal public utilities in competitive trade operations, production and sale of electricity. The tax concession may affect the competitive situation on the electricity market. (orig.)

  15. The Halden Reactor Project Workshop on Studies of Operator Performance During Night Shift's

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morisseau, Dolores S.; Braarud, Per Oeyvind; Collier, Steve; Droeivoldsmo, Asgeir; Larsen, Marit; Lirvall, Peter

    1996-01-01

    A workshop on Studies of Operator Performance during Nights Shifts was organised in Halden, February 27-28, 1996. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss and make recommendations on specific needs for the study of operator cognitive performance at night and identify the relevant research issues for which Halden could provide resolution. The workshop began with presentations by several invited speakers with expertise in studies of shift work and was then divided into three working groups that discussed the following issues in parallel: (1) Lines of Research to Be Pursued; (2) Methods and Measures to Be Used in Research on Cognitive Performance at Nights; and (3) Products of the Research on Operator Performance at Night. Each group produced specific recommendations that were summarised by the group's facilitator in a joint session of the workshop. This report summarises the presentation of the invited speakers, and the discussions and recommendations of the individual working groups. (author)

  16. Rear Operations Group medicine: a pilot study of psychological decompression in a Rear Operations Group during Operation HERRICK 14.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nimenko, Wasyl; Simpson, R G

    2014-12-01

    To investigate group activity psychological decompression (GAPD) in a Rear Operations Group. Provision of military archaeological exercises for a Rear Operations Group's medical centre patients during Op HERRICK 14 with analysis of before and after Patient Health Questionnaires (PHQ), Work and Social Adjustment Scales, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) 7 Anxiety, Audit Questionnaire and Impact of Events Scale Revised and analysis of interviews with supervisors and soldiers. Soldiers reported a mean of 13%-38% improvement across the self-reported domains. The civilian archaeologists reported improvements in self-esteem, morale and team-working. 10 out of 24 soldiers have expressed an interest to pursue archaeology further; eight soldiers disclosed mental health issues for the first time, four of whom required mental health referral. GAPD can help early-returned soldiers in reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, isolation and psychological traumatic symptoms. It also helps to increase perception of their ability to work and socialise as a team and help them to an early return to work. It can provide soldiers with the opportunity to approach their supervisors in an informal manner and help in early detection of mental health problems. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  17. Celebrating 50 years of the CERN Computing Operations group

    CERN Multimedia

    Katarina Anthony

    2013-01-01

    Last week, former and current computing operations staff, managers and system engineers were reunited at CERN. They came together to celebrate a milestone not only for the IT Department but also for CERN: the 50th anniversary of the CERN Operations group and the 40th birthday of the Computer Centre.   The reunion was organised by former chief operator, Pierre Bénassi, and took place from 26 to 27 April. Among the 44 attendees were Neil Spoonley and Charles Symons, who together created the Operations group back in 1963. “At that time, working in the Operations group was a very physical job,” recalls former Operations Group Leader, David Underhill. “For that reason, many of the first operators were former firemen.” A few of the participants enjoyed a tour of CERN landmarks during their visit (see photo). The group toured the CERN Computing Centre (accompanied by IT Department Head, Frédéric Hemmer), as well as the ATLAS cav...

  18. High-Performance Operating Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sharp, Robin

    1999-01-01

    Notes prepared for the DTU course 49421 "High Performance Operating Systems". The notes deal with quantitative and qualitative techniques for use in the design and evaluation of operating systems in computer systems for which performance is an important parameter, such as real-time applications......, communication systems and multimedia systems....

  19. Proceedings from Specialists Meeting on human performance in operational events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    This conference on human performance in operational events is composed of 34 papers, grouped in 11 sessions. After an invited contribution on the human factor in the nuclear industry, the sessions are: session 1 (Operational events: Human performance in operational events - how to improve it?, Human performance research strategies for human performance, The development of a model of control room operator cognition), session 2 (Operational response: A study of the recovery from 120 events, Empirical study of the influence of organizational and procedural characteristics on team performance in the emergency situation using plant simulators, Cognitive skills and nuclear power plant operational decision making), session 3 (PSA for Probabilistic Safety Analysis: A sensitivity study of human errors in optimizing surveillance test interval (STI) and allowed outage time (AOT) of standby safety system, Analysis of Parks nuclear power plant personnel activity during safety related event sequences, An EDF project to update the Probabilistic Human Reliability Assessment PHRA methodology), session 4 (modelling with ATHEANA: Atheana, a technique for human error analysis, an overview of its methodological basis, Common elements on operational events across technologies, Results of nuclear power plant application of new technique for human error analysis), session 5 (Regulatory practice: US.NRC Research and analysis activities concerning human reliability assessment and human performance evaluation, Introduction of simulator-based examinations and its effects on the nuclear industry, Regulatory monitoring of human performance in PWR operation in France), session 6 (Simulation: Human performance in Bavarian nuclear power plant as a preventive element, Human performance event database, Crew situation awareness, diagnoses and performance in simulated nuclear power plant process disturbances), session 7 (Operator aids: Development of a plant navigation system, Operation system

  20. 75 FR 47631 - Swets Information Services, Operations Department, Information Technology Group, Marketing Group...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-06

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-73,668] Swets Information Services, Operations Department, Information Technology Group, Marketing Group, Finance Group, Runnemede..., Information Technology (IT) Group, Marketing Group and the Finance Group into one entity instead of...

  1. Group performance and group learning at dynamic system control tasks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drewes, Sylvana

    2013-01-01

    Proper management of dynamic systems (e.g. cooling systems of nuclear power plants or production and warehousing) is important to ensure public safety and economic success. So far, research has provided broad evidence for systematic shortcomings in individuals' control performance of dynamic systems. This research aims to investigate whether groups manifest synergy (Larson, 2010) and outperform individuals and if so, what processes lead to these performance advantages. In three experiments - including simulations of a nuclear power plant and a business setting - I compare the control performance of three-person-groups to the average individual performance and to nominal groups (N = 105 groups per experiment). The nominal group condition captures the statistical advantage of aggregated group judgements not due to social interaction. First, results show a superior performance of groups compared to individuals. Second, a meta-analysis across all three experiments shows interaction-based process gains in dynamic control tasks: Interacting groups outperform the average individual performance as well as the nominal group performance. Third, group interaction leads to stable individual improvements of group members that exceed practice effects. In sum, these results provide the first unequivocal evidence for interaction-based performance gains of groups in dynamic control tasks and imply that employers should rely on groups to provide opportunities for individual learning and to foster dynamic system control at its best.

  2. Co-Operative Advances in Behavioral Health and Performance Research and Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanderArk, Stephen T.; Leveton, Lauren B.

    2011-01-01

    In organizations that engage in both operations and applied research, with operational needs guiding research questions and research informing improved operations, the ideal goal is a synergy of ideas and information. In reality, this ideal synergy is often lacking. Real-time operational needs driving day-to-day decisions, lack of communication, lag time in getting research advances plugged into operations can cause both areas to suffer from this gap between operations and research. At Johnson Space Center, the Behavior Health and Performance group (BHP) strives to bridge this gap by following a Human Research Program framework: Expectations of future operational needs identify the knowledge gaps; the gaps in turn guide research leading to a product that is transitioned into operations. Thus, the direction those of us in research take is in direct response to current and future needs of operations. Likewise, those of us in operations actively seek knowledge that is supported by evidence-based research. We make an ongoing effort to communicate across the research and operations gap by working closely with each other and making a conscious effort to keep each other informed. The objective of the proposed panel discussion is to demonstrate through the following presentations the results of a successful collaboration between research and operations and to provide ASMA members with more practical knowledge and strategies for building these bridges to serve our field of practice well. The panel will consist of six presenters from BHP operations, internal BHP research, and external research instigated by BHP who together represent the entire BHP Research Transition to Operations Framework

  3. Cognitive Performance in Operational Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, Michael; McGhee, James; Friedler, Edna; Thomas, Maria

    2005-01-01

    Optimal cognition during complex and sustained operations is a critical component for success in current and future military operations. "Cognitive Performance, Judgment, and Decision-making" (CPJD) is a newly organized U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command research program focused on sustaining operational effectiveness of Future Force Warriors by developing paradigms through which militarily-relevant, higher-order cognitive performance, judgment, and decision-making can be assessed and sustained in individuals, small teams, and leaders of network-centric fighting units. CPJD evaluates the impact of stressors intrinsic to military operational environments (e.g., sleep deprivation, workload, fatigue, temperature extremes, altitude, environmental/physiological disruption) on military performance, evaluates noninvasive automated methods for monitoring and predicting cognitive performance, and investigates pharmaceutical strategies (e.g., stimulant countermeasures, hypnotics) to mitigate performance decrements. This manuscript describes the CPJD program, discusses the metrics utilized to relate militarily applied research findings to academic research, and discusses how the simulated combat capabilities of a synthetic battle laboratory may facilitate future cognitive performance research.

  4. Performers and performance : how to investigate the contribution of the operational network to operational performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijngaard, J.; Vries, J. de; Nauta, A.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose This paper seeks to explore the question of how to investigate the contribution of the operational network (comprising sales service, logistics, planning, production, etc.) to operational performance. In doing so, the paper aims to link concepts from organisational and social psychology to

  5. Performers and performance : How to investigate the contribution of the operational network to operational performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wijngaard, J.; de Vries, J.; Nauta, Aukje

    2006-01-01

    Purpose - This paper seeks to explore the question of how to investigate the contribution of the operational network (comprising sales service, logistics, planning, production, etc.) to operational performance. In doing so, the paper aims to link concepts from organisational and social psychology to

  6. Performance of atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) depending on operator-experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Rainer A; Gaengler, Peter; Markovic, Ljubisa; Zimmer, Stefan

    2010-01-01

    Oral health care is not of major interest in developing countries because of lack of infrastructure and professional manpower. Therefore, atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) was introduced by the World Health Organization to be performed by dental auxiliary personnel. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of ART depending on operator-experience in The Republic of The Gambia. One hundred twenty-eight newly inserted restorations were followed up for 12 months using the clinical ART index in a prospective and blinded study design. The patients were randomly assigned to operators. The clinical performance was compared among three groups: trainees, experienced Community Oral Health Workers (COHW), and professional dentists. The difference in success rates was calculated at a 95 percent confidence interval. There was a statistically significant difference between trainees and dentists in performing leakage/gap-free one-surface restorations (P 0.05). Finally, both groups--experienced COHWs and dentists--performed restorations not showing statistically significant differences (P > 0.05). For The Republic of The Gambia--especially for areas with underdeveloped medical infrastructure--training and assignment to perform ART can be recommended for auxiliary dental staff of Community Oral Health Workers.

  7. Operation of the Selected Local Action Group

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lukáš Nevěděl

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of this article is to compare the current operation of elected local action group with the concept of learning regions. This comparison is built on detailed knowledge and understanding of the operation of local action group Podbrnensko citizens’ association (Podbrnensko CA and learning regions in general. The following is assumed: the understanding of community-based processes from the perspective of residents, the important stakeholders who influence the operation of communities or locations. The operation of local action groups is in line with the current concept led by local community development (community led local development, CLLD, which uses elements of the LEADER method. In this method the solution of development problems comes primarily from the inside, not from the outside of the studied territory. The methods used for the collection of empirical data were mostly observation and interviews with all partners involved in LAG (31 people, all mayors in LAG (29 people and 176 people from region, i.e. methods, which result in so called deep data. Between the primary techniques applied in the research are: participant observation, unstructured or semi-structured interviews and public debates.

  8. Probabilistic Linguistic Power Aggregation Operators for Multi-Criteria Group Decision Making

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agbodah Kobina

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available As an effective aggregation tool, power average (PA allows the input arguments being aggregated to support and reinforce each other, which provides more versatility in the information aggregation process. Under the probabilistic linguistic term environment, we deeply investigate the new power aggregation (PA operators for fusing the probabilistic linguistic term sets (PLTSs. In this paper, we firstly develop the probabilistic linguistic power average (PLPA, the weighted probabilistic linguistic power average (WPLPA operators, the probabilistic linguistic power geometric (PLPG and the weighted probabilistic linguistic power geometric (WPLPG operators. At the same time, we carefully analyze the properties of these new aggregation operators. With the aid of the WPLPA and WPLPG operators, we further design the approaches for the application of multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM with PLTSs. Finally, we use an illustrated example to expound our proposed methods and verify their performances.

  9. Supporting CANDU operators-CANDU owners group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Collingwood, B.R.

    1997-01-01

    The CANDU Owners Group (COG) was formed in 1984 by the Canadian CANDU owning utilities and Atomic Energy of Canada limited (AECL). Participation was subsequently extended to all CANDU owners world-wide. The mandate of the COG organization is to provide a framework for co-operation, mutual assistance and exchange of information for the successful support, development, operation, maintenance and economics of CANDU nuclear electric generating stations. To meet these objectives COG established co-operative programs in two areas: 1. Station Support. 2. Research and Development. In addition, joint projects are administered by COG on a case by case basis where CANDU owners can benefit from sharing of costs

  10. Communication as group process media of aircrew performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanki, B. G.; Foushee, H. C.

    1989-01-01

    This study of group process was motivated by a high-fidelity flight simulator project in which aircrew performance was found to be better when the crew had recently flown together. Considering recent operating experience as a group-level input factor, aspects of the communication process between crewmembers (Captain and First Officer), were explored as a possible mediator to performance. Communication patterns were defined by a speech act typology adapted for the flightdeck setting and distinguished crews that had previously flown together (FT) from those that had not flown together (NFT). A more open communication channel with respect to information exchange and validation and greater First Officer participation in task-related topics was shown by FT crews while NFT crews engaged in more non-task discourse, a speech mode less structured by roles and probably serving a more interpersonal function. Relationships between the speech categories themselves, representing linguistic, and role-related interdependencies provide guidelines for interpreting the primary findings.

  11. Research on Group Operation Mode of Once-through Steam Generator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hao, Cheng Ming; Liu, Xinkai; Peng, Min Jun; Xia, Genglei

    2011-01-01

    Integrated Pressurized Water Reactor (IPWR) owns more than one once-through steam generators (OTSGs). Flow instability may occur in secondary side of OTSG under certain conditions. Trying to avoid the occurrence of flow instability is of great important for the safe and stable operation of OTSG. Because of the fact that flow instability often occurs in certain regions, so when OTSGs operate with low load, OTSGs can be separated into several groups, which can avoid flow instability. In this paper, operational characteristics of IPWR are analyzed by RELAP5/MOD3.4 code and during the discussion of group operation, a rapid change load operation scheme using OTSG group operation mode which can be used in IPWR is proposed

  12. Research on Group Operation Mode of Once-through Steam Generator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hao, Cheng Ming; Liu, Xinkai; Peng, Min Jun; Xia, Genglei [Harbin Engineering University, Harbin (China)

    2011-08-15

    Integrated Pressurized Water Reactor (IPWR) owns more than one once-through steam generators (OTSGs). Flow instability may occur in secondary side of OTSG under certain conditions. Trying to avoid the occurrence of flow instability is of great important for the safe and stable operation of OTSG. Because of the fact that flow instability often occurs in certain regions, so when OTSGs operate with low load, OTSGs can be separated into several groups, which can avoid flow instability. In this paper, operational characteristics of IPWR are analyzed by RELAP5/MOD3.4 code and during the discussion of group operation, a rapid change load operation scheme using OTSG group operation mode which can be used in IPWR is proposed.

  13. Comprehensive Performance Nutrition for Special Operations Forces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daigle, Karen A; Logan, Christi M; Kotwal, Russ S

    2015-01-01

    Special Operations Forces (SOF) training, combat, and contingency operations are unique and demanding. Performance nutrition within the Department of Defense has emphasized that nutrition is relative to factors related to the desired outcome, which includes successful performance of mentally and physically demanding operations and missions of tactical and strategic importance, as well as nonoperational assignments. Discussed are operational, nonoperational, and patient categories that require different nutrition strategies to facilitate category-specific performance outcomes. Also presented are 10 major guidelines for a SOF comprehensive performance nutrition program, practical nutrition recommendations for Special Operators and medical providers, as well as resources for dietary supplement evaluation. Foundational health concepts, medical treatment, and task-specific performance factors should be considered when developing and systematically implementing a comprehensive SOF performance nutrition program. When tailored to organizational requirements, SOF unit- and culture-specific nutrition education and services can optimize individual Special Operator performance, overall unit readiness, and ultimately, mission success. 2015.

  14. Process Analysis of the CV Group's Operation

    CERN Document Server

    Wilhelmsson, M

    2000-01-01

    This report will give an explanation of the internal reorganization that has been done because of the necessity to optimize operation in the cooling and ventilation group. The basic structure for the group was defined at the end of 1998. We understood then that change was needed to accommodate the increased workload due to the LHC project. In addition, we face a relatively large turnover of personnel (retirements and some recruitment) with related integration issues to consider. We would also like to implement new approaches in the management of both operations and maintenance. After some running-in problems during the first half of 1999, we realized that much more could be gained with the analysis and the definition and documenting of each single function and generic activity within the group. The authors will explain how this analysis was carried out and give some feedback of the outcome, so far.

  15. Statistical process control as a tool for controlling operating room performance: retrospective analysis and benchmarking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Tsung-Tai; Chang, Yun-Jau; Ku, Shei-Ling; Chung, Kuo-Piao

    2010-10-01

    There is much research using statistical process control (SPC) to monitor surgical performance, including comparisons among groups to detect small process shifts, but few of these studies have included a stabilization process. This study aimed to analyse the performance of surgeons in operating room (OR) and set a benchmark by SPC after stabilized process. The OR profile of 499 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed by 16 surgeons at a tertiary hospital in Taiwan during 2005 and 2006 were recorded. SPC was applied to analyse operative and non-operative times using the following five steps: first, the times were divided into two segments; second, they were normalized; third, they were evaluated as individual processes; fourth, the ARL(0) was calculated;, and fifth, the different groups (surgeons) were compared. Outliers were excluded to ensure stability for each group and to facilitate inter-group comparison. The results showed that in the stabilized process, only one surgeon exhibited a significantly shorter total process time (including operative time and non-operative time). In this study, we use five steps to demonstrate how to control surgical and non-surgical time in phase I. There are some measures that can be taken to prevent skew and instability in the process. Also, using SPC, one surgeon can be shown to be a real benchmark. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  16. The Relationship between Homework and Performance in an Introductory Operations Management Course.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, Michael; Kethley, Bryan; Bullington, Kimball

    2002-01-01

    Homework of 142 students in an operations management was graded and performance on a multiple-choice test was compared to that of 188 without graded homework. The treatment group had lower overall scores. Grading did not affect performance on quantitative questions but had a significant effect on nonquantitative questions. (SK)

  17. Pseudo-differential operators groups, geometry and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Zhu, Hongmei

    2017-01-01

    This volume consists of papers inspired by the special session on pseudo-differential operators at the 10th ISAAC Congress held at the University of Macau, August 3-8, 2015 and the mini-symposium on pseudo-differential operators in industries and technologies at the 8th ICIAM held at the National Convention Center in Beijing, August 10-14, 2015. The twelve papers included present cutting-edge trends in pseudo-differential operators and applications from the perspectives of Lie groups (Chapters 1-2), geometry (Chapters 3-5) and applications (Chapters 6-12). Many contributions cover applications in probability, differential equations and time-frequency analysis. A focus on the synergies of pseudo-differential operators with applications, especially real-life applications, enhances understanding of the analysis and the usefulness of these operators.

  18. Brain performance enhancement for military operators

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erp, J.B.F.; Reschke, S.; Grootjen, M.; Brouwer, A.-M.

    2009-01-01

    Performance of military operators depends on both physical and cognitive aspects. Enhancement of operator performance should therefore address both the body and the brain. This paper focuses on the latter. We provide an extended list of areas where neuroscientific knowledge may be important like

  19. Summary of the Optics, IR, Injection, Operations, Reliability and Instrumentation Working Group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wienands, U.

    2012-01-01

    The facilities reported on are all in a fairly mature state of operation, as evidenced by the very detailed studies and correction schemes that all groups are working on. First- and higher-order aberrations are diagnosed and planned to be corrected. Very detailed beam measurements are done to get a global picture of the beam dynamics. More than other facilities the high-luminosity colliders are struggling with experimental background issues, mitigation of which is a permanent challenge. The working group dealt with a very wide rage of practical issues which limit performance of the machines and compared their techniques of operations and their performance. We anticipate this to be a first attempt. In a future workshop in this series, we propose to attempt more fundamental comparisons of each machine, including design parameters. For example, DAPHNE and KEKB employ a finite crossing angle. The minimum value of β* y attainable at KEKB seems to relate to this scheme. Effectiveness of compensation solenoids and turn-by-turn BPMs etc. should be examined in more detail. In the near future, CESR-C and VEPP-2000 will start their operation. We expect to hear important new experiences from these machines; in particular VEPP-2000 will be the first machine to have adopted round beams. At SLAC and KEK, next generation B Factories are being considered. It will be worthwhile to discuss the design issues of these machines based on the experiences of the existing factory machines.

  20. Performing a local barrier operation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archer, Charles J; Blocksome, Michael A; Ratterman, Joseph D; Smith, Brian E

    2014-03-04

    Performing a local barrier operation with parallel tasks executing on a compute node including, for each task: retrieving a present value of a counter; calculating, in dependence upon the present value of the counter and a total number of tasks performing the local barrier operation, a base value, the base value representing the counter's value prior to any task joining the local barrier; calculating, in dependence upon the base value and the total number of tasks performing the local barrier operation, a target value of the counter, the target value representing the counter's value when all tasks have joined the local barrier; joining the local barrier, including atomically incrementing the value of the counter; and repetitively, until the present value of the counter is no less than the target value of the counter: retrieving the present value of the counter and determining whether the present value equals the target value.

  1. Research about reactor operator's personality characteristics and performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei Li; He Xuhong; Zhao Bingquan

    2003-01-01

    To predict and evaluate the reactor operator's performance by personality characteristics is an important part of reactor operator safety assessment. Using related psychological theory combined with the Chinese operator's fact and considering the effect of environmental factors to personality analysis, paper does the research about the about the relationships between reactor operator's performance and personality characteristics, and offers the reference for operator's selection, using and performance in the future. (author)

  2. Evaluation of risk management and financial performance of BMW Group

    OpenAIRE

    Mysina, Amira

    2017-01-01

    Effective risk and financial management possess a great challenge for the multinational companies operating globally. Despite the increasing development of diverse hedging strategies against foreign exchange risk, global firms cannot fully foresee and measure the degree of the impact of foreign currency fluctuations. This paper aims to evaluate the exchange risk management and financial performance of the BMW Group from the year 2005 to 2016. Moreover, this paper is devoted to provide explana...

  3. Working group on unbundling of electricity trade operations 2. A group report; Saehkoeliiketoimintojen eriyttaemistyoeryhmae 2. Tyoeryhmaen mietintoe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2000-09-01

    The current unbundling of operations in accounts has proved inadequate. No formula or model that could be made binding by provisions have been defined for unbundled accounts. In addition, unbundling can draw a distinct line between commercial activities and network operations, which have assumed various authoritative functions. Against this background, the need for clearer unbundling has become more marked. The working group suggests that the current provisions on unbundling of trade operations should be tightened and that the unbundling should be made clearer especially in terms of allocation of joint costs. For this, the necessary preparations by the authorities should be initiated urgently. At the same time, the working group proposes that network operations should be unbundled from other operations by incorporation or by unbundling them into a separate public utility. The smallest electric utilities should be exempted from the obligation of incorporating network operations. According to the working group, the lower limit could be fixed e.g. at 70 GWh a year. The working group also suggests that the licensees must own the electricity networks they operate. The licensees could not rent their networks from the mother company nor lease them from a financing company. The model proposed by the working group would redress the major problems connected with the supervision of the electricity market. The monopoly, i.e. the electricity network operations, under the supervision of the Electricity Market Authority could thus be unbundled. This would improve the functioning of the market and facilitate the supervision. However, the model would not abolish the tax concession of municipal public utilities in competitive trade operations, production and sale of electricity. The tax concession may affect the competitive situation on the electricity market. (orig.)

  4. Parallel point-multiplication architecture using combined group operations for high-speed cryptographic applications.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md Selim Hossain

    Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a novel parallel architecture for fast hardware implementation of elliptic curve point multiplication (ECPM, which is the key operation of an elliptic curve cryptography processor. The point multiplication over binary fields is synthesized on both FPGA and ASIC technology by designing fast elliptic curve group operations in Jacobian projective coordinates. A novel combined point doubling and point addition (PDPA architecture is proposed for group operations to achieve high speed and low hardware requirements for ECPM. It has been implemented over the binary field which is recommended by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST. The proposed ECPM supports two Koblitz and random curves for the key sizes 233 and 163 bits. For group operations, a finite-field arithmetic operation, e.g. multiplication, is designed on a polynomial basis. The delay of a 233-bit point multiplication is only 3.05 and 3.56 μs, in a Xilinx Virtex-7 FPGA, for Koblitz and random curves, respectively, and 0.81 μs in an ASIC 65-nm technology, which are the fastest hardware implementation results reported in the literature to date. In addition, a 163-bit point multiplication is also implemented in FPGA and ASIC for fair comparison which takes around 0.33 and 0.46 μs, respectively. The area-time product of the proposed point multiplication is very low compared to similar designs. The performance ([Formula: see text] and Area × Time × Energy (ATE product of the proposed design are far better than the most significant studies found in the literature.

  5. Indicators to monitor NPP operational safety performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gomez-Cobo, Ana

    2002-01-01

    Since December 1995 the IAEA activities on safety performance indicators focused on the elaboration of a framework for the establishment of an operational safety performance indicator programme. The development of this framework began with the consideration of the concept of NPP operational safety performance and the identification of operational safety attributes. For each operational safety attribute, overall indicators, envisioned as providing an overall evaluation of relevant aspects of safety performance, were established. Associated with each overall indicator is a level of strategic indicators intended to provide a bridge from overall to specific indicators. Finally each strategic indicator was supported by a set of specific indicators, which represent quantifiable measures of performance. The programme development was enhanced by pilot plant studies, conducted over a 15 month period from January 1998 to March 1999. The result of all this work is compiled in the IAEA-TECDOC-1141, to be published shortly. This paper presents a summary of this IAEA TECDOC. It describes the operational safety performance indicator framework proposed and discusses the results of and lessons learned from the pilot studies. Despite the efforts described, it is clear that additional research is still necessary in areas such as plant-specific adaptation of proposed frameworks in order to suit individual data collection systems and plant characteristics, indicator selection, indicator definition, goal setting, action thresholds, analysis of trends, indicator display systems, analysis of overall safety performance (i.e., aggregation or combination of indicators), safety culture indicators, qualitative indicators, and use of additional indicators to address issues such as industrial safety attitude and performance, staff welfare, and environmental compliance. This is the rationale for a new IAEA Coordinated Research Project on 'Development and application of indicators to monitor NPP

  6. 24 CFR 902.43 - Management operations performance standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Management operations performance... URBAN DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC HOUSING ASSESSMENT SYSTEM PHAS Indicator #3: Management Operations § 902.43 Management operations performance standards. (a) Management operations sub-indicators. The following sub...

  7. Operational characteristics, strategies and performance of foreign and demestic banks in India

    OpenAIRE

    Keshari, Pradeep Kumar

    2013-01-01

    This paper has tried to examine the relative characteristics and performance of foreign and domestic banks operating in India. A comparison of their characteristics undoubtedly suggest that foreign banks as a group differ significantly from domestic banks. It was also found that foreign banks enjoyed higher profitability than the domestic banks. The higher profitability of the former was a reflection of their particular operational characteristics, strategies and the favourable attitude of t...

  8. Operator performance evaluation using multi criteria decision making methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rani, Ruzanita Mat; Ismail, Wan Rosmanira; Razali, Siti Fatihah

    2014-06-01

    Operator performance evaluation is a very important operation in labor-intensive manufacturing industry because the company's productivity depends on the performance of its operators. The aims of operator performance evaluation are to give feedback to operators on their performance, to increase company's productivity and to identify strengths and weaknesses of each operator. In this paper, six multi criteria decision making methods; Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), fuzzy AHP (FAHP), ELECTRE, PROMETHEE II, Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) are used to evaluate the operators' performance and to rank the operators. The performance evaluation is based on six main criteria; competency, experience and skill, teamwork and time punctuality, personal characteristics, capability and outcome. The study was conducted at one of the SME food manufacturing companies in Selangor. From the study, it is found that AHP and FAHP yielded the "outcome" criteria as the most important criteria. The results of operator performance evaluation showed that the same operator is ranked the first using all six methods.

  9. Stress, performance, and control room operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fontaine, C.W.

    1990-01-01

    The notion of control room operator performance being detrimentally affected by stress has long been the focus of considerable conjecture. It is important to gain a better understanding of the validity of this concern for the development of effective severe-accident management approaches. This paper illustrates the undeniable negative impact of stress on a wide variety of tasks. A computer-controlled simulated work environment was designed in which both male and female operators were closely monitored during the course of the study for both stress level (using the excretion of the urine catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephrine as an index) and job performance. The experimental parameters employed by the study when coupled with the subsequent statistical analyses of the results allow one to make some rather striking comments with respect to how a given operator might respond to a situation that he or she perceives to be psychologically stressful (whether the stress be externally or internally generated). The findings of this study clearly indicated that stress does impact operator performance on tasks similar in nature to those conducted by control room operators and hence should be seriously considered in the development of severe-accident management strategies

  10. LONG-RUN OPERATING PERFORMANCE OF PREFERRED STOCK ISSUERS

    OpenAIRE

    Devrim Yaman

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, we study the long-run operating performance of preferred stock issuers. We use three different measures of operating performance; pre-tax cash flows, profit margin and return on assets. We study the performance of industrial firms, financial firms, and utilities separately, as well as the performance of the whole sample. Our results indicate that the operating performance of preferred stock issuers as a whole declines in the three-years before the issue. We find that profitabil...

  11. Operable Unit 3-13, Group 3, Other Surface Soils (Phase II) Field Sampling Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    G. L. Schwendiman

    2006-07-27

    This Field Sampling Plan describes the Operable Unit 3-13, Group 3, Other Surface Soils, Phase II remediation field sampling activities to be performed at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center located within the Idaho National Laboratory Site. Sampling activities described in this plan support characterization sampling of new sites, real-time soil spectroscopy during excavation, and confirmation sampling that verifies that the remedial action objectives and remediation goals presented in the Final Record of Decision for Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, Operable Unit 3-13 have been met.

  12. ABO Blood Group And Reproductive Performance | Gharoro ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ABO Blood Group And Reproductive Performance. ... Blood group A phenotype constituted 22.48%, while AB, B, and O blood groups made up 1.94, 15.28 and 60.3 percent respectively. The mean age of the ... Keywords: ABO Blood Group, Reproductive performance, population mapping, gene frequency. Journal of Mining ...

  13. Products of composite operators in the exact renormalization group formalism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagani, C.; Sonoda, H.

    2018-02-01

    We discuss a general method of constructing the products of composite operators using the exact renormalization group formalism. Considering mainly the Wilson action at a generic fixed point of the renormalization group, we give an argument for the validity of short-distance expansions of operator products. We show how to compute the expansion coefficients by solving differential equations, and test our method with some simple examples.

  14. Performing an allreduce operation using shared memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archer, Charles J [Rochester, MN; Dozsa, Gabor [Ardsley, NY; Ratterman, Joseph D [Rochester, MN; Smith, Brian E [Rochester, MN

    2012-04-17

    Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for performing an allreduce operation using shared memory that include: receiving, by at least one of a plurality of processing cores on a compute node, an instruction to perform an allreduce operation; establishing, by the core that received the instruction, a job status object for specifying a plurality of shared memory allreduce work units, the plurality of shared memory allreduce work units together performing the allreduce operation on the compute node; determining, by an available core on the compute node, a next shared memory allreduce work unit in the job status object; and performing, by that available core on the compute node, that next shared memory allreduce work unit.

  15. Plant operator performance evaluation system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ujita, Hiroshi; Fukuda, Mitsuko; Kubota, Ryuji.

    1989-01-01

    A plant operator performance evaluation system to analyze plant operation records during accident training and to identify and classify operator errors has been developed for the purpose of supporting realization of a training and education system for plant operators. A knowledge engineering technique was applied to evaluation of operator behavior by both even-based and symptom-based procedures, in various situations including event transition due to multiple failures or operational errors. The system classifies the identified errors as to their single and double types based on Swain's error classification and the error levels reflecting Rasmussen's cognitive level, and it also evaluates the effect of errors on plant state and then classifies error influence, using 'knowledge for phenomena and operations', as represented by frames. It has additional functions for analysis of error statistics and knowledge acquisition support of 'knowledge for operations'. The system was applied to a training analysis for a scram event in a BWR plant, and its error analysis function was confirmed to be effective by operational experts. (author)

  16. On the plant operators performance during earthquake

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitada, Y.; Yoshimura, S.; Abe, M.; Niwa, H.; Yoneda, T.; Matsunaga, M.; Suzuki, T.

    1994-01-01

    There is little data on which to judge the performance of plant operators during and after strong earthquakes. In order to obtain such data to enhance the reliability on the plant operation, a Japanese utility and a power plant manufacturer carried out a vibration test using a shaking table. The purpose of the test was to investigate operator performance, i.e., the quickness and correctness in switch handling and panel meter read-out. The movement of chairs during earthquake as also of interest, because if the chairs moved significantly or turned over during a strong earthquake, some arresting mechanism would be required for the chair. Although there were differences between the simulated earthquake motions used and actual earthquakes mainly due to the specifications of the shaking table, the earthquake motions had almost no influence on the operators of their capability (performance) for operating the simulated console and the personal computers

  17. African Network Operators Group (AfNOG) Training Workshops and ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    The African Network Operators Group (AfNOG) is a forum for technical cooperation and coordination between African network operators and engineers from the region's universities, research institutions and industry. This year, AfNOG's training workshops and meetings will be held in Rabat, Morocco, between 24 May and 6 ...

  18. Operating room nursing directors' influence on anesthesia group operating room productivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masursky, Danielle; Dexter, Franklin; Nussmeier, Nancy A

    2008-12-01

    Implementation of initiatives to increase anesthesia group productivity depends not just on anesthesia groups, but on operating room (OR) nursing administration. OR nursing directors may encourage organizational change based on the needs of their hospitals and nurses. These changes may differ from those that would increase the anesthesia group's productivity. We assessed reward structures using (A) letters of nomination for the "OR Manager of the Year" award offered annually by the publication OR Manager, and (B) data from a salary/career survey of OR directors by the same publication. (A) There were 164 nomination letters submitted from 2004 through 2007 for 45 nominees. The letters contained n = 2659 full sentences and n = 50,821 words. We systematically created a list of 36 terms related to finance, profit, and productivity. We also analyzed the frequency of use of these terms relative to the use of the 15 most common relationship-oriented terms (e.g., compassion, encourage, mentor, and respect). (B) The salary/career survey's questions relevant to anesthesia group productivity had responses from 303 US OR directors, 97% of whom were nurses. We tested the strength of the relationship between the budget responsibility of the OR nursing director and his or her annual salary. (A) 2.6% of sentences in the nomination letters included at least one term related to profit and productivity (95% confidence interval 2.0%-3.2%). Relationship-oriented terms were 9.0 times more prevalent (95% confidence interval 7.1-11.4). (B) There was statistically significant positive proportionality between the OR nursing director's operational budget (including personnel) and his or her salary (Pearson r = 0.64, P time and OR nursing labor costs. Resulting decisions can differ from those that would increase the productivity (profit) of the anesthesia group. Anesthesia groups need to champion initiatives to increase anesthesia productivity, while being sensitive to institutional

  19. Operational human performance reliability assessment (OHPRA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haas, P.M.; Swanson, P.J.; Connelly, E.M.

    1993-01-01

    Operational Human Performance Reliability Assessment (OHPRA) is an approach for assessing human performance that is being developed in response to demands from modern process industries for practical and effective tools to assess and improve human performance, and therefore overall system performance and safety. The single most distinguishing feature of the approach is that is defines human performance in open-quotes operationalclose quotes terms. OHPRA is focused not on generation of human error probabilities, but on practical analysis of human performance to aid management in (1) identifying open-quotes fixableclose quotes problems and (2) providing input on the importance and nature of potential improvements. Development of the model in progress uses a unique approach for eliciting expert strategies for assessing performance. A PC-based model incorporating this expertise is planned. A preliminary version of the approach has already been used successfully to identify practical human performance problems in reactor and chemical process plant operations

  20. The Performance of an Object-Oriented, Parallel Operating System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David R. Kohr, Jr.

    1994-01-01

    Full Text Available The nascent and rapidly evolving state of parallel systems often leaves parallel application developers at the mercy of inefficient, inflexible operating system software. Given the relatively primitive state of parallel systems software, maximizing the performance of parallel applications not only requires judicious tuning of the application software, but occasionally, the replacement of specific system software modules with others that can more readily respond to the imposed pattern of resource demands. To assess the feasibility of application and performance tuning via malleable system software and to understand the performance penalties for detailed operating system performance data capture, we describe a set of performance instrumentation techniques for parallel, object-oriented operating systems and a set of performance experiments with Choices, an experimental, object-oriented operating system designed for use with parallel sys- tems. These performance experiments show that (a the performance overhead for operating system data capture is modest, (b the penalty for malleable, object-oriented operating systems is negligible, but (c techniques are needed to strictly enforce adherence of implementation to design if operating system modules are to be replaced.

  1. Interactive performance and focus groups with adolescents: the power of play.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Anne E; Aroian, Karen J; Warren, Stefanie; Wirth, Jeff

    2012-12-01

    Conducting focus groups with adolescents can be challenging given their developmental needs, particularly with sensitive topics. These challenges include intense need for peer approval, declining social trust, short attention span, and reliance on concrete operations thinking. In this article, we describe an adaptation of interactive performance as an alternative to traditional focus group method. We used this method in a study of discrimination experienced by Muslims (ages 13-17) and of peer pressure to engage in sexual behavior experienced by Hispanic girls (ages 10-14). Recommendations for use of this method include using an interdisciplinary team, planning for large amounts of disclosure towards the end of the focus group, and considering the fit of this method to the study topic. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. 7 CFR 3415.10 - Establishment and operation of peer review groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Establishment and operation of peer review groups... ASSESSMENT RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM Scientific Peer Review of Research Grant Applications § 3415.10 Establishment and operation of peer review groups. Subject to § 3415.5, the Administrator shall adopt procedures...

  3. 7 CFR 3400.10 - Establishment and operation of peer review groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Establishment and operation of peer review groups... GRANTS PROGRAM Scientific Peer Review of Research Grant Applications § 3400.10 Establishment and operation of peer review groups. Subject to § 3400.5, the Administrator will adopt procedures for the...

  4. 7 CFR 3401.12 - Establishment and operation of peer review groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Establishment and operation of peer review groups... GRANTS PROGRAM Scientific Peer Review of Research Applications for Funding § 3401.12 Establishment and operation of peer review groups. Subject to § 3401.7, the Administrator will adopt procedures for the...

  5. 7 CFR 3411.10 - Establishment and operation of peer review groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Establishment and operation of peer review groups... INITIATIVE COMPETITIVE GRANTS PROGRAM Scientific Peer Review of Research Grant Applications § 3411.10 Establishment and operation of peer review groups. Subject to § 3411.5, the Administrator shall adopt procedures...

  6. 14 CFR 136.13 - Helicopter performance plan and operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Helicopter performance plan and operations... Helicopter performance plan and operations. (a) Each operator must complete a performance plan before each helicopter commercial air tour, or flight operated under 14 CFR 91.146 or 91.147. The pilot in command must...

  7. PSLn(q) as operator group of isospectral drums

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thas, Koen

    2006-01-01

    In a paper by M Kac (1966 Am. Math. Mon. 73 1-23), Kac asked his famous question 'Can one hear the shape of a drum?', which was answered negatively in Gordon et al (1992 Invent. Math. 110 1-22) by construction of planar isospectral pairs. In Buser et al (1994 Int. Math. Res. Not. 9), it is observed that all operator groups associated with the known counter examples are isomorphic to one of PSL 3 (2), PSL 3 (3), PSL 4 (2) and PSL 3 (4). We show that if (D 1 , D 2 ) is a pair of non-congruent planar isospectral domains constructed from unfolding a polygonal base-tile and with associated operator group PSL n (q), then (n, q) belongs to this very restricted list. (letter to the editor)

  8. Evaluating Robot-Operator Job Performance

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Moses, Franklin L; Brooks, Peter S; Hofmann, M; Johnson, E; Laveson, J; Zaccaro, S

    2007-01-01

    .... Tests that do include performance of the human operator often rely on qualitative observations -- observer judgments and interviews about workload, situation awareness, cognitive issues, and so on...

  9. Evaluation of new control rooms by operator performance analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mori, M; Tomizawa, T.; Tai, I.; Monta, K.; Yoshimura, S.; Hattori, Y.

    1987-01-01

    An advanced supervisory and control system called PODIA TM (Plant Operation by Displayed Information and Automation) was developed by Toshiba. Since this system utilizes computer driven CRTs as a main device for information transfer to operators, thorough system integration tests were performed at the factory and evaluations were made of operators' assessment from the initial experience of the system. The PODIA system is currently installed at two BWR power plants. Based on the experiences from the development of PODIA, a more advanced man-machine interface, Advanced-PODIA (A-PODIA), is developed. A-PODIA enhances the capabilities of PODIA in automation, diagnosis, operational guidance and information display. A-PODIA has been validated by carrying out systematic experiments with a full-scope simulator developed for the validation. The results of the experiments have been analyzed by the method of operator performance analysis and applied to further improvement of the A-PODIA system. As a feedback from actual operational experience, operator performance data in simulator training is an important source of information to evaluate human factors of a control room. To facilitate analysis of operator performance, a performance evaluation system has been developed by applying AI techniques. The knowledge contained in the performance evaluation system was elicited from operator training experts and represented as rules. The rules were implemented by employing an object-oriented paradigm to facilitate knowledge management. In conclusion, it is stated that the feedback from new control room operation can be obtained at an early stage by validation tests and also continuously by comprehensive evaluation (with the help of automated tools) of operator performance in simulator training. The results of operator performance analysis can be utilized for improvement of system design as well as operator training. (author)

  10. Operational stressors on physical performance in special operators and countermeasures to improve performance: a review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Hara, Reginald; Henry, Amy; Serres, Jennifer; Russell, Dawn; Locke, Robert

    2014-01-01

    Military training in elite warfighters (e.g., U.S. Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, and U.S. Air Force Battlefield Airmen) is challenging and requires mental and physical capabilities that are akin to that of professional athletes. However, unlike professional athletes, the competitive arena is the battlefield, with winning and losing replaced by either life or death. The rigors of both physical training and prolonged deployments without adequate rest and food intake can compromise physical performance. Therefore, the primary purpose of this effort was to identify occupational stressors on the physical performance of Special Operators during training and while on missions. The secondary purpose was to suggest specific countermeasures to reduce or prevent significant decrements in physical performance and reduce musculoskeletal injuries. A search of the literature for 2000?2012 was performed using the Air Force Institute of Technology search engines (i.e., PubMed and ProQuest). There were 29 articles located and selected that specifically addressed the primary and secondary purposes of this literature review. The remaining 32 of 61 referenced articles were reviewed after initial review of the primary literature. This review indicates that operational stress (e.g., negative energy balance, high-energy expenditure, sleep deprivation, environmental extremes, heavy load carriage, etc.) associated with rigorous training and sustained operations negatively affects hormonal levels, lean muscle mass, and physical performance of Special Operators. The number of musculoskeletal injuries also increases as a result of these stressors. Commanders may use simple field tests to assess physical decrements before and during deployment to effectively plan for missions. Specific countermeasures for these known decrements are lacking in the scientific literature. Therefore, future researchers should focus on studying specific physical training programs, equipment, and other methods to

  11. The ATLAS Semiconductor Tracker: operations and performance

    CERN Document Server

    Pani, P; The ATLAS collaboration

    2013-01-01

    After more than 3 years of successful operation at 2 the LHC, we report on the operation and performance of the Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) functioning in a high luminosity, 4 high radiation environment. The SCT is part of the inner tracking system of the ATLAS 6 experiment at CERN and is constructed of 4088 silicon detector modules for a total of 6.3 million strips. We find 99.3% of the 8 SCT modules are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specifications; the alignment is very close to 10 the ideal to allow on-line track reconstruction and invariant mass determination. We will report on the operation and performance 12 of the detector including an overview of the issues encountered. The observables employed to monitor online and offline the 14 quality and the performance of the data acquired by the SCT will be described and discussed.

  12. Evaluating and improving nuclear power plant operating performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-07-01

    This report aims to provide the basis for improvements in the understanding of nuclear power plants operation and ideas for improving future productivity. The purpose of the project was to identify good practices of operating performance at a few of the world's most productive plants. This report was prepared through a series of consultants meetings, a specialists meeting and an Advisory Group meeting with participation of experts from 23 Member States. The report is based on self-assessment of half a dozen plants that have been chosen as representatives of different reactor types in as many different countries, and the views and assessment of the participants on good practices influencing plant performance. Three main areas that influence nuclear power plant availability and reliability were identified in the discussions: (1) management practices, (2) personnel characteristics, and (3) working practices. These areas cover causes influencing plant performance under plant management control. In each area the report describes factors or good practices that positively influence plant availability. The case studies, presented in annexes, contain the plant self-assessment of areas that influence their availability and reliability. Six plants are represented in the case studies: (1) Dukovany (WWER, 1760 MW) in the Czech Republic; (2) Blayais (PWR, 3640 MW) in France; (3) Paks (WWER, 1840 MW) in Hungary; (4) Wolsong 1 (PHWR, 600 MW) in the Republic of Korea; (5) Trillo 1 (PWR, 1066 MW) in Spain; and (6) Limerick (BWR, 2220 MW) in the United States of America

  13. [Performance development of a university operating room after implementation of a central operating room management].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waeschle, R M; Sliwa, B; Jipp, M; Pütz, H; Hinz, J; Bauer, M

    2016-08-01

    The difficult financial situation in German hospitals requires measures for improvement in process quality. Associated increases in revenues in the high income field "operating room (OR) area" are increasingly the responsibility of OR management but it has not been shown that the introduction of an efficiency-oriented management leads to an increase in process quality and revenues in the operating theatre. Therefore the performance in the operating theatre of the University Medical Center Göttingen was analyzed for working days in the core operating time from 7.45 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. from 2009 to 2014. The achievement of process target times for the morning surgery start time and the turnover times of anesthesia and OR-nurses were calculated as indicators of process quality. The number of operations and cumulative incision-suture time were also analyzed as aggregated performance indicators. In order to assess the development of revenues in the operating theatre, the revenues from diagnosis-related groups (DRG) in all inpatient and occupational accident cases, adjusted for the regional basic case value from 2009, were calculated for each year. The development of revenues was also analyzed after deduction of revenues resulting from altered economic case weighting. It could be shown that the achievement of process target values for the morning surgery start time could be improved by 40 %, the turnover times for anesthesia reduced by 50 % and for the OR-nurses by 36 %. Together with the introduction of central planning for reallocation, an increase in operation numbers of 21 % and cumulative incision-suture times of 12% could be realized. Due to these additional operations the DRG revenues in 2014 could be increased to 132 % compared to 2009 or 127 % if the revenues caused by economic case weighting were excluded. The personnel complement in anesthesia (-1.7 %) and OR-nurses (+2.6 %) as well as anesthetists (+6.7 %) increased less compared to the

  14. The Performance of Step-Wise Group Screening Designs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.M. Manene

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we evaluate the performance of step-wise group screening designs in which group-factors contain an equal number of factors in the initial step.  A usual assumption in group screening designs is that the directions of possible effects are known a-priori. In practice, however, this assumption is unreasonable. We shall examine step-wise group screening designs without errors in observations when this assumption is relaxed. We shall consider cancellations of effects within group-factors. The performance of step-wise group-screening designs shall then be compared with the performance of multistage group screening designs.

  15. RHIC heavy ion operations performance

    CERN Document Server

    Satogata, T; Ferrone, R; Pilat, F

    2006-01-01

    The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) completed its fifth year of operation in 2005, colliding copper ion beams with ps=200 GeV/u and 62.4 GeV/u[1]. Previous heavy ion runs have collided gold ions at ps=130 GeV/u, 200 GeV/u, and 62.4 GeV/u[2], and deuterons and gold ions at ps=200 GeV/u[3]. This paper discusses operational performance statistics of this facility, including Cu- Cu delivered luminosity, availability, calendar time spent in physics stores, and time between physics stores. We summarize the major factors affecting operations efficiency, and characterize machine activities between physics stores.

  16. Elaborating and Making Rational Decisions in Designing Process Operations of a Group of Holes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. I. Solov'ev

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available To manufacture engineering products are used expensive multi-purpose CNC machines with five operated coordinates, allowing a single setup of the work-piece to process a group of holes in the housing part from all sides.Because of the haphazard arrangement of a large number of holes available in the space it is difficult to ensure the effective use of these machines.Onsite operational research, conducted on six CNC GS-500 models, involved actual observations and time measurements during 15 working shifts, processing of observation results, and calculations of equipment performance parameters such as machine utilization rate, arrangement and changeover time loss, and real output. Time loss (downtime because of arrangement amounted 44.52%, while that of due to changeover was 20.1% of the total downtime value. These downtimes hide irrational design solutions concerning the engineering process and a large number of changeovers for a new operation to process a group of the specified work-pieces.It is found that to reduce the changeover downtimes it is necessary to increase, first of all, the average number of single tool travels per one setup in generalized characteristics of a group of the work-pieces. That means to increase a changeover concentration of processing within a single operation, as well as to choose rational values for machining a batch of the work-pieces. Under study conditions, it is, at least. 20-50 pieces.To implement a development of the principle of increasing concentration of the processing changeovers it is advised to apply the developed mathematical models, algorithms, and programs that can be used, as modules or their parts, in computer-aided design (CAD systems. This allows a 3-5 times reduction in time to find the rational option of the work-piece position on the machine work surface when developing a process technology, a review and an analysis of more than the usual number of such possible options. It also improves the

  17. Performance management for nuclear power plant operators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fan Pengfei

    2014-01-01

    Fuel was loaded to Unit 3 of the second power plant in May 2010. The Second Operation Division stepped in the operation stage from production preparation and commissioning and exploration of performance management was started. By means of performance evaluation, a closed loop of performance management was formed, staff enthusiasm improved, and potential capability inspired through evaluation, analysis and improvement. The performance evaluation covers attitude, skill, efficiency, performance, teamwork sense, cooperation, etc. Quantitative appraisal was carried out through 31 objective indicators of the working process and results. According to the evaluation results and personal interviews, indicators were modified. Through the performance evaluation, positive guidance is provided to the employees to promote the development of employees, departments and the enterprise. (authors)

  18. Interval-Valued Hesitant Fuzzy Multiattribute Group Decision Making Based on Improved Hamacher Aggregation Operators and Continuous Entropy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Liu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Under the interval-valued hesitant fuzzy information environment, we investigate a multiattribute group decision making (MAGDM method with continuous entropy weights and improved Hamacher information aggregation operators. Firstly, we introduce the axiomatic definition of entropy for interval-valued hesitant fuzzy elements (IVHFEs and construct a continuous entropy formula on the basis of the continuous ordered weighted averaging (COWA operator. Then, based on the Hamacher t-norm and t-conorm, the adjusted operational laws for IVHFEs are defined. In order to aggregate interval-valued hesitant fuzzy information, some new improved interval-valued hesitant fuzzy Hamacher aggregation operators are investigated, including the improved interval-valued hesitant fuzzy Hamacher ordered weighted averaging (I-IVHFHOWA operator and the improved interval-valued hesitant fuzzy Hamacher ordered weighted geometric (I-IVHFHOWG operator, the desirable properties of which are discussed. In addition, the relationship among these proposed operators is analyzed in detail. Applying the continuous entropy and the proposed operators, an approach to MAGDM is developed. Finally, a numerical example for emergency operating center (EOC selection is provided, and comparative analyses with existing methods are performed to demonstrate that the proposed approach is both valid and practical to deal with group decision making problems.

  19. Pursuit of excellence in F/H operator performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keelan, B.; Curle, B.

    1996-01-01

    Performance of any fuel handling system is heavily dependent on the performance of the system operators. Sadly, this topic often receives little attention until incidents occur. Darlington has taken a proactive approach designed to reach and maintain excellent operator performance. Expectations and Standards are generated and published. A detailed, goal-oriented, auditable training program, which includes hands-on training modules, ensures operators reach the standards before qualifications are granted. Refresher courses maintain current skills. A depersonalized, computerized reporting system ensures training and standards are updated to match current situations. (author). 1 fig

  20. Pursuit of excellence in F/H operator performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Keelan, B; Curle, B [Ontario Hydro, Bowmanville (Canada). Darlington Nuclear Generating Station

    1997-12-31

    Performance of any fuel handling system is heavily dependent on the performance of the system operators. Sadly, this topic often receives little attention until incidents occur. Darlington has taken a proactive approach designed to reach and maintain excellent operator performance. Expectations and Standards are generated and published. A detailed, goal-oriented, auditable training program, which includes hands-on training modules, ensures operators reach the standards before qualifications are granted. Refresher courses maintain current skills. A depersonalized, computerized reporting system ensures training and standards are updated to match current situations. (author). 1 fig.

  1. The Effects of International Operations on the Relationship Between Manufacturing Improvement Programs and Operational Performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Matyusz, Zsolt; Demeter, Krisztina; Boer, Harry

    The link between manufacturing programs and operational performance, and the effects of company internal and external factors on that relationship, are well studied in the literature, both theoretically and empirically. However, previous studies rarely took into account how the scope of operations...... of the business unit affects the relationship between manufacturing programs and performances. We investigate the scope of operations from the manufacturing perspective (i.e. companies that manufacture in only one country have narrow scope of operations, while companies that manufacture in more than one country...... have broad scope of operations). We apply structural equation modelling (SEM) using PLS path modelling to investigate the effect of scope of operations on the relationship between manufacturing improvement programs and operational performance. Manufacturing improvement programs are programs like...

  2. Autonomie du groupe restreint et performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elke Nissen

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available Un groupe est autonome lorsqu'il prend lui-même en charge sa gestion (Abric, 1996 et lorsque celle-ci fonctionne bien. L'autonomie du groupe restreint est une caractéristique revendiquée dans le cadre actuel de l'expansion de dispositifs collaboratifs à distance entre apprenants. La question qui se pose alors est de savoir si un groupe restreint autonome est plus performant qu'un groupe moins autonome. L'autonomie d'un groupe d'apprentissage en ligne est-elle en relation avec la qualité de la réalisation de la tâche ? Est-elle en relation avec les progrès réalisés par les membres du groupe ? Dans le cadre de notre étude expérimentale, menée dans deux dispositifs pédagogiques différents (l'environnement d'apprentissage Babbelnet et une formation sur la plate-forme Acolad, des étudiants ont réalisé en groupes restreints, avec l'accompagnement d'un tuteur, une tâche de type actionnel – en l'occurrence une rédaction en langue étrangère (allemand ou anglais. Pour ce faire, ils disposaient d'aides méthodologiques et linguistiques dans l'environnement pédagogique en ligne. Ils ont interagi par le biais d'Internet au moyen de différents outils de communication. Une analyse de l'interaction qui a eu lieu dans chaque groupe, l'évaluation des rédactions réalisées conjointement, deux tests réalisés respectivement avant et après la phase de travail en groupe ainsi qu'un formulaire auto-administré nous permettent de mettre en lien l'autonomie des groupes, d'une part, et leur performance, voire leur apprentissage, d'autre part. Au vu de cette étude, il apparaît que l'autonomie du groupe n'a pas d'influence directe sur l'apprentissage des groupes restreints. En revanche, un rapport est visible entre l'appréciation du fonctionnement du groupe par ses membres et l'évolution de la performance des groupes.

  3. Operational safety performance of Slovak NPPs in 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomek, J.

    2006-01-01

    In this presentation author presents operational safety performance of Slovak NPPs in 2005. Operation of Slovak NPPs in 2005 was safe and reliable, with: - high level of performance low risk; - minimal impact on the personnel, environment and public; - positive attitude to safety.

  4. Five Large Generation Groups:Competing in Capital Operation

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2008-01-01

    @@ Since the reform of electric power industry in 2002,the newly established five large generation groups have been persisting in the development strategy of "taking electricity as the core and extending to up-and-downstream businesses." Stringent measures were taken in capital operation and their potential has been shown through electric power assets acquiring,coal and financial resources investing,capital market financing as well as power utility restructuring.The five groups are playing more and more important roles in merger and acquisition (M&A) and capital markets.

  5. 42 CFR 52h.3 - Establishment and operation of peer review groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Establishment and operation of peer review groups... GRANTS SCIENTIFIC PEER REVIEW OF RESEARCH GRANT APPLICATIONS AND RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT PROJECTS § 52h.3 Establishment and operation of peer review groups. (a) To the extent applicable, the...

  6. Evaluating and improving nuclear power plant operating performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-07-01

    This report aims to provide the basis for improvements in the understanding of nuclear power plants operation and ideas for improving future productivity. The purpose of the project was to identify good practices of operating performance at a few of the world`s most productive plants. This report was prepared through a series of consultants meetings, a specialists meeting and an Advisory Group meeting with participation of experts from 23 Member States. The report is based on self-assessment of half a dozen plants that have been chosen as representatives of different reactor types in as many different countries, and the views and assessment of the participants on good practices influencing plant performance. Three main areas that influence nuclear power plant availability and reliability were identified in the discussions: (1) management practices, (2) personnel characteristics, and (3) working practices. These areas cover causes influencing plant performance under plant management control. In each area the report describes factors or good practices that positively influence plant availability. The case studies, presented in annexes, contain the plant self-assessment of areas that influence their availability and reliability. Six plants are represented in the case studies: (1) Dukovany (WWER, 1760 MW) in the Czech Republic; (2) Blayais (PWR, 3640 MW) in France; (3) Paks (WWER, 1840 MW) in Hungary; (4) Wolsong 1 (PHWR, 600 MW) in the Republic of Korea; (5) Trillo 1 (PWR, 1066 MW) in Spain; and (6) Limerick (BWR, 2220 MW) in the United States of America Figs, tabs

  7. Influence of ABO blood group on sports performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lippi, Giuseppe; Gandini, Giorgio; Salvagno, Gian Luca; Skafidas, Spyros; Festa, Luca; Danese, Elisa; Montagnana, Martina; Sanchis-Gomar, Fabian; Tarperi, Cantor; Schena, Federico

    2017-06-01

    Despite being a recessive trait, the O blood group is the most frequent worldwide among the ABO blood types. Since running performance has been recognized as a major driver of evolutionary advantage in humans, we planned a study to investigate whether the ABO blood group may have an influence on endurance running performance in middle-aged recreational athletes. The study population consisted of 52 recreational, middle-aged, Caucasian athletes (mean age: 49±13 years, body mass index, 23.4±2.3 kg/m 2 ), regularly engaged in endurance activity. The athletes participated to a scientific event called "Run for Science" (R4S), entailing the completion of a 21.1 km (half-marathon) run under competing conditions. The ABO blood type status of the participants was provided by the local Service of Transfusion Medicine. In univariate analysis, running performance was significantly associated with age and weekly training, but not with body mass index. In multiple linear regression analysis, age and weekly training remained significantly associated with running performance. The ABO blood group status was also found to be independently associated with running time, with O blood type athletes performing better than those with non-O blood groups. Overall, age, weekly training and O blood group type explained 62.2% of the total variance of running performance (age, 41.6%; training regimen, 10.5%; ABO blood group, 10.1%). The results of our study show that recreational athletes with O blood group have better endurance performance compared to those with non-O blood group types. This finding may provide additional support to the putative evolutionary advantages of carrying the O blood group.

  8. Long-term performance of motor-operated valves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scarbrough, T.G.

    1996-12-01

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requires that motor-operated valves (MOVs) important to safety be designed, fabricated, erected, and tested to quality standards commensurate with the importance of the safety functions to be performed. Despite these requirements, operating experience and research revealed problems with the performance of MOVs in operating nuclear power plants. In response to the concerns about MOV performance, the NRC issued Generic Letter (GL) 89-10, {open_quotes}Safety-Related Motor-Operated Valve Testing and Surveillance,{close_quotes} and its supplements. Most licensees have completed the aspects of their GL 89-10 programs associated with the review of MOV design bases, verification of MOV switch settings initially, testing of MOVs under design-basis conditions where practicable, and improvement of evaluations of MOV failures and necessary corrective action. Licensees are establishing processes to ensure that the long-term aspects of their MOV programs, such as periodic verification of MOV capability and the trending of MOV problems, are maintained. The NRC staff is developing a generic letter to address periodic verification of MOV design-basis capability.

  9. Long-term performance of motor-operated valves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scarbrough, T.G.

    1996-01-01

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requires that motor-operated valves (MOVs) important to safety be designed, fabricated, erected, and tested to quality standards commensurate with the importance of the safety functions to be performed. Despite these requirements, operating experience and research revealed problems with the performance of MOVs in operating nuclear power plants. In response to the concerns about MOV performance, the NRC issued Generic Letter (GL) 89-10, open-quotes Safety-Related Motor-Operated Valve Testing and Surveillance,close quotes and its supplements. Most licensees have completed the aspects of their GL 89-10 programs associated with the review of MOV design bases, verification of MOV switch settings initially, testing of MOVs under design-basis conditions where practicable, and improvement of evaluations of MOV failures and necessary corrective action. Licensees are establishing processes to ensure that the long-term aspects of their MOV programs, such as periodic verification of MOV capability and the trending of MOV problems, are maintained. The NRC staff is developing a generic letter to address periodic verification of MOV design-basis capability

  10. Friends With Performance Benefits: A Meta-Analysis on the Relationship Between Friendship and Group Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Seunghoo; Lount, Robert B; Park, Hee Man; Park, Ernest S

    2018-01-01

    The current article examines if, and under which conditions, there exists a positive relationship between working with friends and group performance. To do so, using data from 1,016 groups obtained from 26 studies, we meta-analyzed comparisons of the performance of friendship groups versus acquaintance groups. Results show that friendship has a significant positive effect on group task performance (Cohen's d = 0.31). Furthermore, this relationship was moderated by group size (i.e., the positive effect of friendship on performance increased with group size) and task focus (i.e., friendship groups performed better than acquaintance groups on tasks requiring a high quantity of output, whereas there was no performance benefit on tasks requiring a single or high-quality output). These results help to reconcile mixed findings and illustrate when friendship groups are more likely to perform better than acquaintance groups.

  11. Decisions concerning how to improve operator performance based on comparisons of successful and non-successful operators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Svenson, Ola

    1999-01-01

    One way of finding out how to improve operator training is to collect information from expert operators about how they select and process information when they act as experts. This strategy can be used when the information is not well structured, when expertise involves a very high level of skill and so forth. X-ray diagnosis, evaluations of organizations, judgments of rock and materials quality over very long time and investigations of cracks in ultrasonic tests exemplify areas in which human expertise plays an important role. Typically, in this kind of approach, a number of skilled experts are first selected and then they are compared to a control group of less successful individuals or non-experts (who can also in some cases be the candidates of the training program). The differences between the two groups are then used as a basis for designing training programs to improve the performance of the non-experts. Unfortunately, this approach has some pitfalls that may lead to undue optimism concerning the expected results of such training programs. This will be further elaborated and exemplified in this talk (full text of the contribution)

  12. Research about reactor operator's personability characteristics and performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wei Li; He Xuhong; Zhao Bingquan [Tsinghua Univ., Institute of Nuclear Energy Technology, Beijing (China)

    2003-03-01

    To predict and evaluate the reactor operator's performance by personality characteristics is an important part of reactor operator safety assessment. Using related psychological theory combined with the Chinese operator's fact and considering the effect of environmental factors to personality analysis, paper does the research about the about the relationships between reactor operator's performance and personality characteristics, and offers the reference for operator's selection, using and performance in the future. (author)

  13. Team performance measures for abnormal plant operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montgomery, J.C.; Seaver, D.A.; Holmes, C.W.; Gaddy, C.D.; Toquam, J.L.

    1990-01-01

    In order to work effectively, control room crews need to possess well-developed team skills. Extensive research supports the notion that improved quality and effectiveness are possible when a group works together, rather than as individuals. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recognized the role of team performance in plant safety and has attempted to evaluate licensee performance as part of audits, inspections, and reviews. However, reliable and valid criteria for team performance have not yet been adequately developed. The purpose of the present research was to develop such reliable and valid measures of team skills. Seven dimensions of team skill performance were developed on the basis of input from NRC operator licensing examiners and from the results of previous research and experience in the area. These dimensions included two-way communications, resource management, inquiry, advocacy, conflict resolution/decision-making, stress management, and team spirit. Several different types of rating formats were developed for use with these dimensions, including a modified Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) format and a Behavioral Frequency format. Following pilot-testing and revision, observer and control room crew ratings of team performance were obtained using 14 control room crews responding to simulator scenarios at a BWR and a PWR reactor. It is concluded, overall, that the Behavioral Frequency ratings appeared quite promising as a measure of team skills but that additional statistical analyses and other follow-up research are needed to refine several of the team skills dimensions and to make the scales fully functional in an applied setting

  14. Semi-groups of operators and some of their applications to partial differential equations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kisynski, J.

    1976-01-01

    Basic notions and theorems of the theory of one-parameter semi-groups of linear operators are given, illustrated by some examples concerned with linear partial differential operators. For brevity, some important and widely developed parts of the semi-group theory such as the general theory of holomorphic semi-groups or the theory of temporally inhomogeneous evolution equations are omitted. This omission includes also the very important application of semi-groups to investigating stochastic processes. (author)

  15. Government Performance and Results Act Reporting on Defense Working Capital Funds Net Operating Results

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2001-01-01

    .... The overall objective of the audit was to determine whether the net operating results for the activity groups of the Defense Working Capital Fund were consistently and accurately compiled. We also assessed internal controls to determine whether management complied with the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993.

  16. Transactive memory in organizational groups: the effects of content, consensus, specialization, and accuracy on group performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, John R

    2003-10-01

    Previous research on transactive memory has found a positive relationship between transactive memory system development and group performance in single project laboratory and ad hoc groups. Closely related research on shared mental models and expertise recognition supports these findings. In this study, the author examined the relationship between transactive memory systems and performance in mature, continuing groups. A group's transactive memory system, measured as a combination of knowledge stock, knowledge specialization, transactive memory consensus, and transactive memory accuracy, is positively related to group goal performance, external group evaluations, and internal group evaluations. The positive relationship with group performance was found to hold for both task and external relationship transactive memory systems.

  17. Strategic Groups and Banks’ Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gregorz Halaj

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The theory of strategic groups predicts the existence of stable groups of companies that adopt similar business strategies. The theory also predicts that groups will differ in performance and in their reaction to external shocks. We use cluster analysis to identify strategic groups in the Polish banking sector. We find stable groups in the Polish banking sector constituted after the year 2000 following the major privatisation and ownership changes connected with transition to the mostly-privately-owned banking sector in the late 90s. Using panel regression methods we show that the allocation of banks to groups is statistically significant in explaining the profitability of banks. Thus, breaking down the banks into strategic groups and allowing for the different reaction of the groups to external shocks helps in a more accurate explanation of profits of the banking sector as a whole.Therefore, a more precise ex ante assessment of the loss absorption capabilities of banks is possible, which is crucial for an analysis of banking sector stability. However, we did not find evidence of the usefulness of strategic groups in explaining the quality of bank portfolios as measured by irregular loans over total loans, which is a more direct way to assess risks to financial stability.

  18. Reports from the Combined Performance Working Groups

    CERN Multimedia

    S. Haywood

    The main goal of the Combined Performance Groups is to study the detector performance for physics, as well as to monitor the effect of changes to the detector layout and the evolution of the software. The groups combine the expertise available in several different subdetectors. In addition, they are responsible for developing combined reconstruction algorithms and are involved in the calibration of energy scales and optimising resolutions. For the Workshop, the four groups made a real effort to compare the reconstruction in Athena (the "New" C++ software framework) and Atrecon (the "Old" software used for the TDR studies). b-tagging Working Group: Over the last few months, the description of the Inner Detector in the simulation has become more realistic, following the evolution of the detector design. This has caused the amount of material in the simulation to increase and the Pixel B-layer has been moved to a larger radius to allow for a wider beam-pipe. Nevertheless, the good performance of the b-tagging (...

  19. ITER parametric analysis and operational performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perkins, L.J.; Spears, W.R.; Galambos, J.D.

    1991-01-01

    One of the key components of the ITER Conceptual Design Activities (CDA) is the determination of optimum design, investigation of operation in various modes, recommendation of baseline performance specifications, studies of sensitivity of ITER design to uncertainties in physics, investigation of operational flexibility, assessment of alternative designs, and determination of implications for extrapolation to prospective DEMO reactors. These terms of reference are reported in this document. Refs, figs and tabs

  20. What Drive the Damage to Post-Merger Operating Performance?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soegiharto Soegiharto

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available This study examines whether bidders’ post-merger operat-ing performance are affected by their CEO behavior, premiumspaid to the target firms, the period of mergers, the method ofpayment, the industry of merged firms, capital liquidity, andtheir pre-merger operating performance. Testing the U.S. suc-cessful merger and acquisition data for the period of 1990s, thisstudy finds that in-wave mergers, intra-industry mergers, thepayment of lower premiums, and better pre-merger operatingperformance drive the bidders to produce better post-mergeroperating performance. Three measures of CEO behavior—themain predictor scrutinezed in this study—are proposed andexamined, and the results demonstrate that the effects of thesemeasures on post-merger operating performance are mixed,suggesting that each of the behavioral measures designed in thisstudy may capture CEO behavior in different ways. Keywords: capital liquidity; CEO overconfidence; merger waves, method of pay-ment operating performance

  1. Sex and age differences in physical performance: A comparison of Army basic training and operational populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dada, Esther O; Anderson, Morgan K; Grier, Tyson; Alemany, Joseph A; Jones, Bruce H

    2017-11-01

    To determine the age- and sex-specific differences of physical fitness performances and Body Mass Index (BMI) in basic training and the operational Army. Cross-sectional Study. This secondary analysis utilizes retrospective surveys of U.S. Army Soldiers in Basic Combat Training (BCT) and operational units to compare physical performances between men and women as measured by the Army Physical Readiness Test (APFT). An ANOVA was used to compare mean differences in APFT results and BMI within sex-specific populations. A post hoc Tukey test identified specific mean differences. Adjusting for age, an ANCOVA was used to compare sex and occupation (infantry and non-infantry) differences in APFT results. Surveyed populations consisted of 2216 BCT Soldiers (1573 men and 643 women) and 5515 Operational Soldiers (4987 men and 528 women). Male and female operational Soldiers had greater muscular performance (79%-125% higher APFT push-ups, 66%-85% higher APFT sit-ups) and cardiorespiratory performance (22%-24% faster APFT 2-mile run times) than BCT Soldiers. Male BCT and operational Soldiers outperform their female counterparts on tests of muscular and cardiorespiratory endurance. Sex differences in physical performances attenuated among female Soldiers in operational units compared to BCT. Among male operational Soldiers, infantry Soldiers exhibited greater cardiorespiratory and muscular performance than non-infantry Soldiers. Higher BMI was associated with higher age groups, except for female BCT Soldiers. Gaps in cardiorespiratory and muscular performances between men and women should be addressed through targeted physical training programs that aim to minimize physiological differences. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  2. A culture of education: Enhancing school performance of youth living in residential group care in Ontario.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gharabaghi, Kiaras

    2011-01-01

    This article presents a synthesis of what is known about the educational experiences of youth living in residential group care based on a literature review that highlights both the experiences of the youth themselves and the operational context of residential group care in Ontario as it pertains to educational performance. The author argues that there is little emphasis on education within the residential group care sector in Ontario that could translate into more productive educational experiences for youth. The article then provides a framework for developing a culture of education for residential group care that can be acted upon expeditiously. Enhancing the educational performance of young people living in group care will require a cultural approach that provides for daily and pervasive education supports and encouragement, and aims to enhance the lived experience of young people pursuant to their education.

  3. Cernavoda NPP Unit 1: Operating experience program and plant specific performance indicators (level 2)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teodor, Vasile; Popa, Viorel

    1998-01-01

    The basis for the Operating Experience Program was set in place since early stages of the commissioning phase (1993), when a system based on the Canadian approach was implemented for reporting, reviewing, assessing and establishing of the necessary corrective action for unplanned events. This system provided excellent opportunity to train staff in unplanned event assessment methodology, and prepare the station for the formal reporting process following criticality in accordance with the licensing requirements. The formal process, set in place after criticality is described in Station Instruction Procedure SI-01365-P13 'Unplanned Event Report' and was developed under the supervision of Safety and Compliance Department. In parallel, a program for information exchange and trending of performance indicators was developed by Technical Services Department. The WANO recommendations following August 1997 Peer Review provided the opportunity for a better understanding and reconsideration of the Operating Experience Program. As a result, all the activities related to this topic were assigned to a new structure, within Safety and Compliance Department. As such an Operating Experience Group was created and a new program is now being developed in an integrated and centralized manner. The content of the paper is the following: - Overview; - Operating Experience Program; - Event Analysis (Unplanned Events Assessment System - UEIR Process- and Systematic Analysis of Operational Events - ACR Process); - Information Exchange Program; - Monitoring of Operating Experience - Plant Specific Performance Indicators; - Purpose; - Level 2 Performance Indicators. Four appendices are added containing: - A. Station performance indicators/targets (Level 2); - B. SPI (Station Performance Indicators - Level 2) - Graphics; - C. UEIR, LRS (Safety and Licensing Review Sheet), UEFR (Unplanned Event Follow-up Report), ACR and OPEX forms. (authors)

  4. The concept of presence in group psychotherapy: an operational definition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crane-Okada, Rebecca

    2012-07-01

    The paper aims to operationally define the concept of presence, as developed and exhibited by the therapist leading a psychotherapy group, and illustrated with case examples. A group therapist, who addresses tangible, basic group survival needs, while integrating knowledge of psychotherapeutic processes, authentic and effective interpersonal communications, and genuine concern for individual members and the group as a whole, is best situated to enact presence in the context of group psychotherapy. Establishing presence can be achieved in a systematic way with an understanding of the meaning of being present at each step in the development of the group psychotherapeutic process. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. The impact of lean management implementation on organizational operational performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hira Hashmi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: The research aims to develop the consensus between different operational improvement strategies, to address the relationship between the operational characteristics (lean and operational performance of the organization. Methods: Variables from which the extraction of the outcomes has been established include operational performance, daily schedule adherence, repeat production and flow oriented layout. The technique of data analysis is selected to be Correlation and multiple regressions. The aim for performing these tests is to highlight association of lean strategy with the operational performance. Results and conclusions: The positive association is being established amongst the operational performance and the daily schedule adherence, flow oriented layout and the repeat production. It is suggested to the supply chain management that they must entail their production team for having repetition in their work and become efficient in their production. They must be reached to their optimization level, where they have to extract less waste and have high level of the production.

  6. A 2015 comparison of operational performance : Washington state ferries to ferry operators worldwide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-03-01

    This report provides an update to the 2010 report A Comparison of Operational Performance: : Washington State Ferries to Ferry Operators Worldwide, observing changes in Washington State : Ferries, 23 other ferry systems, and the ferry industry ...

  7. Factors Affecting Green Supply Chain Operational Performance of the Thai Auto Parts Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Korrakot Yaibuathet Tippayawong

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available In this work, operational performance in the green supply chain management (SCM of the Thai auto parts industry was investigated. A green supply chain performance measurement (GSPM model was developed from the combination of various concepts including an SCM logistics scorecard, a supply chain operations reference model, a balance scorecard, and green supply chain management. The GSPM has been designed for use as a self-evaluation tool focusing on five decisive areas, or factors, and 28 sub-factors. A factor analysis was conducted using the survey results of the GSPM in order to identify significant factors that represent the green supply chain operation performance. Grouped as three major factors, namely green procurement, green transportation, and green manufacturing; reverse logistics and eco-design; and reuse and recycle of manufacturing, their significance and impact on the auto parts industry in Thailand were highlighted. Specifically, the factor of green procurement, green transportation, and green manufacturing, as major factor 1, in relation with the factor of reverse logistics and eco-design, as major factor 2, were found to have a strong positive relationship with the asset turnover ratio.

  8. Research of psychological characteristics and performance relativity of operators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang Xiang; He Xuhong; Zhao Bingquan

    2008-01-01

    Based on the working tasks of an operator being taken into full consideration in this paper, on the one hand the table of measuring psychological characteristics is designed through the selection of special dimensions; on the other hand the table of performance appraisal is drafted through the choice of suitable standards of an operator. The paper analyzes the results of two aspects, sets relevant nuclear power plant operators as the research objective, and obtains the psychological characteristics and performance relativity of operators. The research can be as important and applied reference for the selection, evaluation and use of operators

  9. A Framework for Human Performance Criteria for Advanced Reactor Operational Concepts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jacques V Hugo; David I Gertman; Jeffrey C Joe

    2014-08-01

    This report supports the determination of new Operational Concept models needed in support of the operational design of new reactors. The objective of this research is to establish the technical bases for human performance and human performance criteria frameworks, models, and guidance for operational concepts for advanced reactor designs. The report includes a discussion of operating principles for advanced reactors, the human performance issues and requirements for human performance based upon work domain analysis and current regulatory requirements, and a description of general human performance criteria. The major findings and key observations to date are that there is some operating experience that informs operational concepts for baseline designs for SFR and HGTRs, with the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) as a best-case predecessor design. This report summarizes the theoretical and operational foundations for the development of a framework and model for human performance criteria that will influence the development of future Operational Concepts. The report also highlights issues associated with advanced reactor design and clarifies and codifies the identified aspects of technology and operating scenarios.

  10. Members' needs, intragroup conflict, and group performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chun, Jinseok S; Choi, Jin Nam

    2014-05-01

    Focusing on "what people want in their group" as a critical antecedent of intragroup conflict, the present study theorizes and empirically investigates the relationships among the psychological needs of group members, intragroup conflict, and group performance. It attends to the within-group average and dispersion of members' psychological needs and examines the effects stemming from group composition of needs on multiple types of conflict. The analyses based on multisource data from 145 organizational teams revealed significant relationships between the groups' composition with respect to the members' need for achievement and task conflict, need for affiliation and relationship conflict, and need for power and status conflict. Some of these relationships were moderated by open communication among members. The analyses also demonstrated that when the 3 types of conflict were considered together, task conflict was a positive predictor of group performance, whereas relationship conflict was a negative predictor. The findings highlight the motivational aspects of intragroup conflict, revealing the multilevel dynamics of the psychological needs in social settings. (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  11. A FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE COMPARISON OF GROUP AND NON-GROUP FIRMS IN TEXTILE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ishtiaq AHMAD

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Pakistan is a developing economy and business groups are key players of the Pakistan’s economy. Previous research evidence shows that in the emerging economies group affiliation creates value for the firms. This study is intended to empirically investigate to know that whether group affiliated (GA firms perform financially better than non-group affiliated firms or not? GA firms in emerging economies can have better financial performance by sharing tangible and intangible resources at group level. The financial ratio is used to compare performance of affiliated and non-group affiliated firms by using the data of 70 textile firms listed at Karachi Stock Exchange(now Pakistan Stock Exchange covering a period from 2008 to 2012. Based on mean values of return on assets (ROA, results of the study show that GA firms have higher financial performance than non-group affiliated firms in each year and over all five years.

  12. Complexity rating of abnormal events and operator performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oeivind Braarud, Per

    1998-01-01

    The complexity of the work situation during abnormal situations is a major topic in a discussion of safety aspects of Nuclear Power plants. An understanding of complexity and its impact on operator performance in abnormal situations is important. One way to enhance understanding is to look at the dimensions that constitute complexity for NPP operators, and how those dimensions can be measured. A further step is to study how dimensions of complexity of the event are related to performance of operators. One aspect of complexity is the operator 's subjective experience of given difficulties of the event. Another related aspect of complexity is subject matter experts ratings of the complexity of the event. A definition and a measure of this part of complexity are being investigated at the OECD Halden Reactor Project in Norway. This paper focus on the results from a study of simulated scenarios carried out in the Halden Man-Machine Laboratory, which is a full scope PWR simulator. Six crews of two licensed operators each performed in 16 scenarios (simulated events). Before the experiment subject matter experts rated the complexity of the scenarios, using a Complexity Profiling Questionnaire. The Complexity Profiling Questionnaire contains eight previously identified dimensions associated with complexity. After completing the scenarios the operators received a questionnaire containing 39 questions about perceived complexity. This questionnaire was used for development of a measure of subjective complexity. The results from the study indicated that Process experts' rating of scenario complexity, using the Complexity Profiling Questionnaire, were able to predict crew performance quite well. The results further indicated that a measure of subjective complexity could be developed that was related to crew performance. Subjective complexity was found to be related to subjective work load. (author)

  13. A pre-operative group rehabilitation programme provided limited benefit for people with severe hip and knee osteoarthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallis, Jason A; Webster, Kate E; Levinger, Pazit; Fong, Cynthia; Taylor, Nicholas F

    2014-01-01

    To determine if a pre-operative group rehabilitation programme can improve arthritis self-efficacy for people with severe hip and knee osteoarthritis. Single group, repeated measures design: 4-week baseline phase followed by a 6-week intervention phase of water exercise, and education with self-management strategies. The primary outcome was arthritis self-efficacy. The secondary outcomes were measures of pain (WOMAC), activity limitation (WOMAC), activity performance (30 s chair stand test, 10 m walk test) and health-related quality of life (EuroQol). Twenty participants (10 knee osteoarthritis and 10 hip osteoarthritis) with a mean age of 71 years (SD 7) attended 92% (SD 10%) of the scheduled sessions. All measures demonstrated baseline stability between two time points for measurements at week 1 and measurements at week 4. After the 6-week intervention programme there were no significant improvements for arthritis self-efficacy. There was a 12% increase for fast walking speed (mean increase of 0.14 m/s, 95% CI 0.07, 0.22). There were no significant improvements for other secondary outcomes. A pre-operative water-based exercise and educational programme did not improve arthritis self-efficacy, self-reported pain and activity limitation, and health-related quality of life for people with hip and knee osteoarthritis who were candidates for joint replacement. While there was a significant increase in one measure of activity performance (walking speed), these findings suggest the current programme may be of little value. Implications for Rehabilitation This pre-operative group rehabilitation programme for people with severe hip and knee osteoarthritis did not change arthritis self-efficacy, pain, activity limitation and health-related quality of life. This programme may have little value in preparing people for joint replacement surgery. The optimal pre-operative programme requires further design and investigation.

  14. Design-for-variety, postponement, and operational performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boer, Henrike Engele Elisabeth

    2015-01-01

    Design for variety (DFV) practices such as product modularization, platform thinking and design for manufacturing/assembly have been suggested to yield considerable operational performance benefits. Some of these performance effects can be expected in all manufacturing settings, including the pos...

  15. Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRG and Hospital Business Performance Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szynkiewicz Piotr

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this article is to present the possibility of using Diagnosis- Related Groups (DRG in the hospital management process and to analyse the need for business performance management on the part of hospital management staff. The following research methods were used: literature analysis, case studies, and poll analysis. It is not possible to increase the effectiveness of operation of healthcare entities without increasing the importance of IT systems and using DRG more effectively in the management process. Training users in IT and the use of DRGs is important to achieving hospital effectiveness. The increased importance of analyses and planning in a hospital should be reflected in the organisational structure of service providers. Hospital controllers should have a similar role to those present in most companies in other industries.

  16. A group property for the coherent state representation of fermionic squeezing operators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Hong-yi; Li, Chao

    2004-06-01

    For the two-mode fermionic squeezing operators we find that their coherent state projection operator representation make up a loyal representation, which is homomorphic to an SO(4) group, though the fermionic coherent states are not mutual orthogonal. Thus the result of successively operating with many fermionic squeezing operators on a state can be equivalent to a single operation. The fermionic squeezing operators are mappings of orthogonal transformations in Grassmann number pseudo-classical space in the fermionic coherent state representation.

  17. A group property for the coherent state representation of fermionic squeezing operators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fan Hongyi; Li Chao

    2004-01-01

    For the two-mode fermionic squeezing operators we find that their coherent state projection operator representation make up a loyal representation, which is homomorphic to an SO(4) group, though the fermionic coherent states are not mutual orthogonal. Thus the result of successively operating with many fermionic squeezing operators on a state can be equivalent to a single operation. The fermionic squeezing operators are mappings of orthogonal transformations in Grassmann number pseudo-classical space in the fermionic coherent state representation

  18. Coaching Non-technical Skills Improves Surgical Residents' Performance in a Simulated Operating Room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yule, Steven; Parker, Sarah Henrickson; Wilkinson, Jill; McKinley, Aileen; MacDonald, Jamie; Neill, Adrian; McAdam, Tim

    2015-01-01

    To investigate the effect of coaching on non-technical skills and performance during laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a simulated operating room (OR). Non-technical skills (situation awareness, decision making, teamwork, and leadership) underpin technical ability and are critical to the success of operations and the safety of patients in the OR. The rate of developing assessment tools in this area has outpaced development of workable interventions to improve non-technical skills in surgical training and beyond. A randomized trial was conducted with senior surgical residents (n = 16). Participants were randomized to receive either non-technical skills coaching (intervention) or to self-reflect (control) after each of 5 simulated operations. Coaching was based on the Non-Technical Skills For Surgeons (NOTSS) behavior observation system. Surgeon-coaches trained in this method coached participants in the intervention group for 10 minutes after each simulation. Primary outcome measure was non-technical skills, assessed from video by a surgeon using the NOTSS system. Secondary outcomes were time to call for help during bleeding, operative time, and path length of laparoscopic instruments. Non-technical skills improved in the intervention group from scenario 1 to scenario 5 compared with those in the control group (p = 0.04). The intervention group was faster to call for help when faced with unstoppable bleeding in the final scenario (no. 5; p = 0.03). Coaching improved residents' non-technical skills in the simulated OR compared with those in the control group. Important next steps are to implement non-technical skills coaching in the real OR and assess effect on clinically important process measures and patient outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. ATLAS Silicon Microstrip Tracker Operation and Performance

    CERN Document Server

    Yamada, M; The ATLAS collaboration

    2011-01-01

    The SemiConductor Tracker (SCT), comprising of silicon micro-strip detectors is one of the key precision tracking devices in the ATLAS Inner Detector. ATLAS is one of the experiments at CERN LHC. The completed SCT is in very good shapes with 99.3% of the SCT’s 4088 modules (a total of 6.3 million strips) are operational. The noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specifications. In the talk the current status of the SCT will be reviewed. We will report on the operation of the detector, its performance and observed problems, with stress on the sensor and electronics performance.

  20. Harmonic analysis and global solvability of a differential operator invariant on motion groups and semi-simple Lie groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Hussein, K.

    1991-08-01

    Let V be a real finite dimensional vector space and let K be a connected compact Lie group, which acts on V by means of a continuous linear representation ρ. Let G=V x p K be the motion group which is the semi-direct product of V by K and let P be an invariant differential operator on G. In this paper we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the global solvability of P on G. Now let G be a connected semi-simple Lie group with finite centre and let P be an invariant differential operator on G. We give also a necessary and sufficient condition for the global solvability of P on G. (author). 8 refs

  1. Investigations of Cutting Fluid Performance Using Different Machining Operations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    De Chiffre, Leonardo; Belluco, Walter

    2002-01-01

    An analysis of cutting fluid performance in dif-ferent metal cutting operations is presented based on performance criteria, work material and fluid type. Cutting fluid performance was evaluated in turning, drilling, reaming and tapping operations, with respect to tool life, cutting forces and prod...... will get the same performance ranking for different metalworking fluids no matter what machining test is used, when the fluids are of the same type. Results show that this is mostly true for the water-based fluids on austenitic stainless steel while ranking did change depending on the test with straight......-gated. In the case of austenitic stainless steel as the workpiece material, results using the different operations under different cutting conditions show that the performance of vegetable oil based prod-ucts is superior or equal to that of mineral oil based products. The hypothesis was investigated that one...

  2. Operating performance of LWR nuclear generating units

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pia, S.

    1984-01-01

    This work aims at reviewing, on the basis of historical data, the operational problem areas which explain the degree of availability and productivity achieved up to now by nuclear power plants in commercial operation in the world. The operating performance data of nuclear power plants area analysed with respect to plant type, size and other significant reference parameters and they are evaluated also by comparison with fossil generating unit data. Major performance indices data are presented for both nuclear and fossil units type and distribution of outage causes. Unplanned full outages caused by nuclear power plant equipment and components failure are particulary emphasized. The trend for unplanned full outages due to the failure of components shows decreasing numerical values in 1981 with respect to the previous years. But this result should be weighed with the increasing plant unavailability hours needed for maintenance and repair action (chiefly preventive maintenance on critical components). This means that the number and downtime of forced outage must be drastically reduced for economic reasons (production losses and problems associated with the unavailable unit unplanned replacement) as well as for plant safe and reliable operation (sudden unavailability of key components and frequency of transients associated with plant shutdown and routine startup operation)

  3. Mission Operations Working Group (MOWG) Report to the OMI Science Team

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Dominic M.

    2017-01-01

    This PowerPoint presentation will discuss Aura's current spacecraft and OMI insturment status, highlight any performance trends and impacts to OMI operations, identify any operational changes and express concerns or potential process improvements.

  4. 78 FR 61387 - Supermedia LLC, Publishing Operations Divison, Account Management Group, a Subsidiary of Dex...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-03

    ... LLC, Publishing Operations Divison, Account Management Group, a Subsidiary of Dex Media Inc..., Publishing Operations Divison, Listing Management Group, a Subsidiary of Dex Media Inc., Including On-Site... to workers and former workers of SuperMedia LLC, Publishing Operation Division, Account Management...

  5. Performing process migration with allreduce operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archer, Charles Jens; Peters, Amanda; Wallenfelt, Brian Paul

    2010-12-14

    Compute nodes perform allreduce operations that swap processes at nodes. A first allreduce operation generates a first result and uses a first process from a first compute node, a second process from a second compute node, and zeros from other compute nodes. The first compute node replaces the first process with the first result. A second allreduce operation generates a second result and uses the first result from the first compute node, the second process from the second compute node, and zeros from others. The second compute node replaces the second process with the second result, which is the first process. A third allreduce operation generates a third result and uses the first result from first compute node, the second result from the second compute node, and zeros from others. The first compute node replaces the first result with the third result, which is the second process.

  6. COMMISSIONING AND DETECTOR PERFORMANCE GROUPS

    CERN Document Server

    T. Camporesi

    P5 Commissioning activities The commissioning effort at the pit has made major progress since the last CMS week concerning the installation and operation of the off-detector electronics in USC. The progress has been much slower in the experi¬mental cavern due to the delay in the deployment of the infrastructure which should eventually allow safe powering-up of the front ends. Nevertheless, temporary power connections have allowed operation of slices of subdetectors at any given time. HF, HE, ECAL, DTs, RPCs and CSCs have carried out local commissioning tests with these temporary services. The status of hardware deployment in USC and on the towers/balconies is represented in the detailed table below.   Table 1: Status of installation of off-detector electronics. FEDs are detector dependent hardware modules which perform the first ‘colla¬tion’ of front-end data and send it to Central-data for event building. Tracker, ECAL, HCAL have their front end electronics mo...

  7. Some human performance paradoxes of nuclear operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Otway, H.J.; Misenta, R.

    1980-01-01

    Roughly once a year, an abnormal situation with emergency potential may suddenly break the calm monotony of nuclear-power plant operation. The operating crew, perhaps under-stimulated by monitoring largely automatic processes, may then be expected to make correct inferences and decisions about complex phenomena. However, under stress, the operators may resort to using their 'best-learned responses', inappropriate to the real situation. Recent events at Three Mile Island prompted a variety of suggestions intended to improve operator performance, eg higher qualifications, more pay, or enhanced status. The authors stress the paradoxes of nuclear operation, conclude that some 'intuitively obvious' suggestions might have the opposite effect to that intended, and explore the possibility of introducing frequent, realistic emergency drills. Even this approach raises paradoxes - perhaps the role of the operator should be eliminated, or redefined to allow less human intervention in emergencies. (author)

  8. The ATLAS semi-conductor tracker operation and performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robinson, D.

    2013-01-01

    The Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) is a silicon strip detector and one of the key precision tracking devices in the Inner Detector of the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The SCT was installed and commissioned within ATLAS in 2007, and has been used to exploit fully the physics potential of the LHC since the first proton–proton collisions at 7 TeV were delivered in 2009. In this paper, its operational status throughout data taking up to the end of 2011 is presented, and its tracking performance is reviewed. -- Highlights: ► The operation and performance of the ATLAS Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) is reviewed. ► More than 99% of the SCT strips have remained operational in all data taking periods so far. ► Tracking performance indicators have met or exceeded design specifications. ► Radiation damage effects match closely expectations from delivered fluence.

  9. Induced representations of the affine group and intertwining operators: I. Analytical approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elmabrok, Abdelhamid S; Hutník, Ondrej

    2012-01-01

    We analyze the construction and origin of unitary operators describing the structure of the space of continuous wavelet transforms inside the space L 2 (G,dν L ) of all square-integrable functions on the affine group G with respect to the left-invariant Haar measure from the viewpoint of induced representations of G. We show that these operators are, in fact, intertwining operators among pairs of induced representations of the affine group G. A characterization of the space of wavelet transforms using the Cauchy–Riemann-type equations is given. This article is part of a special issue of Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical devoted to ‘Coherent states: mathematical and physical aspects’. (paper)

  10. Operational safety performance indicators for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-05-01

    Since the late 1980s, the IAEA has been actively sponsoring work in the area of indicators to monitor nuclear power plant (NPP) operational safety performance. The early activities were mainly focused on exchanging ideas and good practices in the development and use of these indicators at nuclear power plants. Since 1995 efforts have been directed towards the elaboration of a framework for the establishment of an operational safety performance indicator programme. The result of this work, compiled in this publication, is intended to assist NPPs in developing and implementing a monitoring programme, without overlooking the critical aspects related to operational safety performance. The framework proposed in this report was presented at two IAEA workshops on operational safety performance indicators held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in September 1998 and at the Daya Bay NPP, Szenzhen, China, in December 1998. During these two workshops, the participants discussed and brainstormed on the indicator framework presented. These working sessions provided very useful insights and ideas which where used for the enhancement of the framework proposed. The IAEA is acknowledging the support and contribution of all the participants in these two activities. The programme development was enhanced by pilot plant studies. Four plants from different countries with different designs participated in this study with the objective of testing the applicability, usefulness and viability of this approach

  11. Presentation of the GIE INTRA Group's operational means

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cochard, A.

    2010-01-01

    Located on the Chinon nuclear power plant site, the Intra Group is an economic interest grouping which has been created by the three French nuclear operators (EDF, CEA, and COGEMA now AREVA) after the Chernobyl accident. Its missions are to possess permanently available means of intervention in case of severe accident or radiological situation, to be able to intervene at any time on the French territory, to develop a European network of expertise, and to build up an ability centre for robotic intervention in hostile environment. This document briefly presents its different available means: remotely controlled equipment (inside and outside equipment, public works equipment), and radiological characterization equipment. Other aspects are briefly evoked: organization, information transmission, exercises and interventions, international relationships, future trends

  12. Performance Measurement Using Balanced Scorecard Concept On Co-Operatives Implication In Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ernita

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This study aims to apply the concept of balanced scorecards in measurement of co-operatives performance based on vision and mission. So far the assessment of co-operative performance in Indonesia is not take into account the social hold co-operative while co-operatives carrying a dual mission. Research conducted in in North Sumatera Province in Indonesia. The sample consisting of one hundred co-operatives that are still active run annual members meeting. Co-operative performance was assessed based on its fourth perspective i.e. membership financial internal process and learning amp growth. The indicator key of cooperative performance was determined by taking into account the performance assessment on co-operatives as articulated of State Minister for Co-operatives and SMEs No.129KEPMKUMKMXI2002 and the regulations of the State Minister for Co-operatives and SME No.06PerM.KUKMV2006. Therefore this research were contributed a method in assessing co-operative performance using Balanced Scorecard concept with the four perspective namely membership perspective financial perspective internal process perspective and learning amp growth perspective.

  13. New software for improving performance in wind farm operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collins, Mark [Ekho for Wind (Canada)

    2011-07-01

    The performance of wind farms depends on multiple field and business systems. This makes operational planning difficult because of so many data being in separate systems, duplication of data and the impossibility of gathering all relevant data together in one place. The aim of this paper is to present a new software, Ekho for Wind, which helps improve performance in wind farm operations by providing features such as high level views, performance analysis, downtime tracking, quality data management and forecast generation. This new software provides operational intelligence which offers incentives for continuous improvement. Ekho for Wind can bring such benefits as maximization of generation, increased lifetime of assets, minimization of costs and increased profitability. This presentation introduced a new software for improving the performance of wind farms and the lifetime of assets, resulting in significant payback.

  14. Performance and operation of the semiconductor tracker (SCT)

    CERN Document Server

    Dervan, P; The ATLAS collaboration

    2013-01-01

    After more than 3 years of successful operation at the LHC, we report on the operation and performance of the ATLAS Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) functioning in a high luminosity, high radiation environment. The SCT is constructed of 4088 silicon detector modules, for a total of 6.3 million strips. Each module is designed, constructed and tested to operate as a stand-alone unit, mechanically, electrically, optically and thermally. The modules are mounted into two types of structures: one barrel (4 cylinders) and two end-cap systems (9 disks on each end of the barrel). The SCT silicon micro-strip sensors are processed in the planar p-in-n technology. The signals are processed in the front-end ABCD3TA ASICs, which use a binary readout architecture. Data is transferred to the off-detector readout electronics via optical fibres. We find 99.3% of the SCT modules are operational and the hit efficiency exceeds the design specifications. We will report on the operation and performance of the detector, including an ove...

  15. Proposed evaluation framework for assessing operator performance with multisensor displays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foyle, David C.

    1992-01-01

    Despite aggressive work on the development of sensor fusion algorithms and techniques, no formal evaluation procedures have been proposed. Based on existing integration models in the literature, an evaluation framework is developed to assess an operator's ability to use multisensor, or sensor fusion, displays. The proposed evaluation framework for evaluating the operator's ability to use such systems is a normative approach: The operator's performance with the sensor fusion display can be compared to the models' predictions based on the operator's performance when viewing the original sensor displays prior to fusion. This allows for the determination as to when a sensor fusion system leads to: 1) poorer performance than one of the original sensor displays (clearly an undesirable system in which the fused sensor system causes some distortion or interference); 2) better performance than with either single sensor system alone, but at a sub-optimal (compared to the model predictions) level; 3) optimal performance (compared to model predictions); or, 4) super-optimal performance, which may occur if the operator were able to use some highly diagnostic 'emergent features' in the sensor fusion display, which were unavailable in the original sensor displays. An experiment demonstrating the usefulness of the proposed evaluation framework is discussed.

  16. Working group 4B - human intrusion: Design/performance requirements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Channell, J.

    1993-01-01

    There is no summary of the progress made by working group 4B (Human Intrusion: Design/performance Requirements) during the Electric Power Research Institute's EPRI Workshop on the technical basis of EPA HLW Disposal Criteria, March 1993. This group was to discuss the waste disposal standard, 40 CFR Part 191, in terms of the design and performance requirements of human intrusion. Instead, because there were so few members, they combined with working group 4A and studied the three-tier approach to evaluating postclosure performance

  17. ATLAS Silicon Microstrip Tracker Operation and Performance

    CERN Document Server

    Nagai, K; The ATLAS collaboration

    2012-01-01

    The Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) is one of the key precision tracking devices in the ATLAS experiment at CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The SCT was constructed of 4088 modules for a total of 6.3 million silicon strips and was installed into the ATLAS experiment in 2007. The SCT has been fully operational since then, and achieves a good tracking performance from the startup of the LHC operation.

  18. Improving Operational Risk Management Using Business Performance Management Technologies

    OpenAIRE

    Bram Pieket Weeserik; Marco Spruit

    2018-01-01

    Operational Risk Management (ORM) comprises the continuous management of risks resulting from: human actions, internal processes, systems, and external events. With increasing requirements, complexity and a growing volume of risks, information systems provide benefits for integrating risk management activities and optimizing performance. Business Performance Management (BPM) technologies are believed to provide a solution for effective Operational Risk Management by offering several combined ...

  19. Control-room operator alertness and performance in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, T.l.; Campbell, S.C.; Linder, K.D.; Moore-Ede, M.C

    1990-02-01

    All industries requiring round-the-clock operation must deal with the potential problem of impaired alertness, especially among those who work night shifts. In the nuclear power industry, maintaining optimal alertness and performance of control room operators at all times of day is critical. Many of the toot causes of reduced alertness are straightforward and can be easily remedied with tangible solutions; this manual both discusses the reasons for the problem and suggests solutions. The manual surveys factors that influence operator alertness and performance, including shift schedules, caffeine and alcohol use, diet and family lifestyle factors, the control room enviornment, staffing and overtime practices, and work task design. Specific recommendations are made in each of these areas. The project team, consisting of experts on managing round-the-clock operations and scientists who study human alertness and performance, prepared this manual using the latest scientific research and direct input from shift supervisors and operators via interviews, on-site observation, and questionnaires distributed to every nuclear power station. The material contained within is relevant to shiftwork managers, shift supervisors, and operators, each of whom plays a vital role in maintaining optimal alertness and performance on the job. 90 refs., 35 figs

  20. Supporting human performance in operations - principles for new nuclear build

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lane, L.; Davey, E.

    2006-01-01

    Operational experience worldwide continues to demonstrate that human performance is a key factor in the ongoing safety, production, and protection of investment in operation of nuclear plants for electricity generation. Human performance in support of plant operational objectives can be influenced by a range of factors, for example: organizational culture and expectations; role assignments, training, and individual and team behaviours; and the support offered by the workplace environment, tools, and task design. This paper outlines a perspective on some of the principles that should be considered for application in the design of new nuclear build to facilitate support for human performance in plant operations. The principles identified focus on but are not limited to the tasks of shift staff, and are derived from the observations and experience of the authors who are experienced with control room operations in current plants. (author)

  1. Supporting human performance in operations - principles for new nuclear build

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lane, L. [Ontario Power Generation, Darlington Nuclear Div., Bowmanville, Ontario (Canada); Davey, E. [Crew Systems Solutions, Deep River, Ontario (Canada)

    2006-07-01

    Operational experience worldwide continues to demonstrate that human performance is a key factor in the ongoing safety, production, and protection of investment in operation of nuclear plants for electricity generation. Human performance in support of plant operational objectives can be influenced by a range of factors, for example: organizational culture and expectations; role assignments, training, and individual and team behaviours; and the support offered by the workplace environment, tools, and task design. This paper outlines a perspective on some of the principles that should be considered for application in the design of new nuclear build to facilitate support for human performance in plant operations. The principles identified focus on but are not limited to the tasks of shift staff, and are derived from the observations and experience of the authors who are experienced with control room operations in current plants. (author)

  2. When does power disparity help or hurt group performance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarakci, Murat; Greer, Lindred L; Groenen, Patrick J F

    2016-03-01

    Power differences are ubiquitous in social settings. However, the question of whether groups with higher or lower power disparity achieve better performance has thus far received conflicting answers. To address this issue, we identify 3 underlying assumptions in the literature that may have led to these divergent findings, including a myopic focus on static hierarchies, an assumption that those at the top of hierarchies are competent at group tasks, and an assumption that equality is not possible. We employ a multimethod set of studies to examine these assumptions and to understand when power disparity will help or harm group performance. First, our agent-based simulation analyses show that by unpacking these common implicit assumptions in power research, we can explain earlier disparate findings--power disparity benefits group performance when it is dynamically aligned with the power holder's task competence, and harms group performance when held constant and/or is not aligned with task competence. Second, our empirical findings in both a field study of fraud investigation groups and a multiround laboratory study corroborate the simulation results. We thereby contribute to research on power by highlighting a dynamic understanding of power in groups and explaining how current implicit assumptions may lead to opposing findings. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. 14 CFR 135.397 - Small transport category airplane performance operating limitations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Small transport category airplane... PERSONS ON BOARD SUCH AIRCRAFT Airplane Performance Operating Limitations § 135.397 Small transport category airplane performance operating limitations. (a) No person may operate a reciprocating engine...

  4. Hardware enabled performance counters with support for operating system context switching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salapura, Valentina; Wisniewski, Robert W.

    2015-06-30

    A device for supporting hardware enabled performance counters with support for context switching include a plurality of performance counters operable to collect information associated with one or more computer system related activities, a first register operable to store a memory address, a second register operable to store a mode indication, and a state machine operable to read the second register and cause the plurality of performance counters to copy the information to memory area indicated by the memory address based on the mode indication.

  5. The effectiveness of lean manufacturing audits in measuring operational performance improvements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taggart, P.

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The hypothesis that lean manufacturing audits are an effective way to measure improvements in operational performance was tested using 64 manufacturing sites owned by a FTSE 100 company. Commonly-used lean characteristics were evaluated: policy deployment, standardised work, visual management and housekeeping, quick changeover techniques, total productive maintenance, continuous improvement (kaizen, error proofing, cultural awareness, material control, and levelling (heijunka. Operational performance was assessed employing commonly-used operational performance measures: on-time-delivery, inventory turns, and direct labour utilisation. The findings are that lean manufacturing audits are effective in measuring improvements in operational performance provided that the audit scope and the lean characteristics are aligned up front.

  6. Canonical construction of differential operators intertwining representations of real semisimple Lie groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobrev, V.K.

    1986-11-01

    Let G be a real linear connected semisimple Lie group. We present a canonical construction of the differential operators intertwining elementary (≡ generalized principal series) representations of G. The results are easily extended to real linear reductive Lie groups. (author). 20 refs

  7. The Unbalanced Linguistic Aggregation Operator in Group Decision Making

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Zou

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Many linguistic aggregation methods have been proposed and applied in the linguistic decision-making problems. In practice, experts need to assess a number of values in a side of reference domain higher than in the other one; that is, experts use unbalanced linguistic values to express their evaluation for problems. In this paper, we propose a new linguistic aggregation operator to deal with unbalanced linguistic values in group decision making, we adopt 2-tuple representation model of linguistic values and linguistic hierarchies to express unbalanced linguistic values, and moreover, we present the unbalanced linguistic ordered weighted geometric operator to aggregate unbalanced linguistic evaluation values; a comparison example is given to show the advantage of our method.

  8. Introduction of the UNIX International Performance Management Work Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Henry

    1993-01-01

    In this paper we presented the planned direction of the UNIX International Performance Management Work Group. This group consists of concerned system developers and users who have organized to synthesize recommendations for standard UNIX performance management subsystem interfaces and architectures. The purpose of these recommendations is to provide a core set of performance management functions and these functions can be used to build tools by hardware system developers, vertical application software developers, and performance application software developers.

  9. 14 CFR 135.399 - Small nontransport category airplane performance operating limitations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Small nontransport category airplane... PERSONS ON BOARD SUCH AIRCRAFT Airplane Performance Operating Limitations § 135.399 Small nontransport category airplane performance operating limitations. (a) No person may operate a reciprocating engine or...

  10. Improvements in operational safety performance of the Magnox power stations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marchese, C.J. [BNFL Magnox Generation, Berkeley (United Kingdom)

    2000-10-01

    In the 43 years since commencement of operation of Calder Hall, the first Magnox power station, there remain eight Magnox stations and 20 reactors still in operation, owned by BNFL Magnox Generation. This paper describes how the operational safety performance of these stations has significantly improved over the last ten years. This has been achieved against a background of commercial competition introduced by privatization and despite the fact that the Magnox base design belongs to the past. Finally, the company's future plans for continued improvements in operational safety performance are discussed. (author)

  11. Schwarzian conditions for linear differential operators with selected differential Galois groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdelaziz, Y; Maillard, J-M

    2017-01-01

    We show that non-linear Schwarzian differential equations emerging from covariance symmetry conditions imposed on linear differential operators with hypergeometric function solutions can be generalized to arbitrary order linear differential operators with polynomial coefficients having selected differential Galois groups. For order three and order four linear differential operators we show that this pullback invariance up to conjugation eventually reduces to symmetric powers of an underlying order-two operator. We give, precisely, the conditions to have modular correspondences solutions for such Schwarzian differential equations, which was an open question in a previous paper. We analyze in detail a pullbacked hypergeometric example generalizing modular forms, that ushers a pullback invariance up to operator homomorphisms. We finally consider the more general problem of the equivalence of two different order-four linear differential Calabi–Yau operators up to pullbacks and conjugation, and clarify the cases where they have the same Yukawa couplings. (paper)

  12. Schwarzian conditions for linear differential operators with selected differential Galois groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdelaziz, Y.; Maillard, J.-M.

    2017-11-01

    We show that non-linear Schwarzian differential equations emerging from covariance symmetry conditions imposed on linear differential operators with hypergeometric function solutions can be generalized to arbitrary order linear differential operators with polynomial coefficients having selected differential Galois groups. For order three and order four linear differential operators we show that this pullback invariance up to conjugation eventually reduces to symmetric powers of an underlying order-two operator. We give, precisely, the conditions to have modular correspondences solutions for such Schwarzian differential equations, which was an open question in a previous paper. We analyze in detail a pullbacked hypergeometric example generalizing modular forms, that ushers a pullback invariance up to operator homomorphisms. We finally consider the more general problem of the equivalence of two different order-four linear differential Calabi-Yau operators up to pullbacks and conjugation, and clarify the cases where they have the same Yukawa couplings.

  13. Work-group characteristics and performance in collectivistic and individualistic cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sosik, John J; Jung, Dong I

    2002-02-01

    The authors conducted a cross-cultural longitudinal investigation of the effects of culture (individualism-collectivism dichotomy) on group characteristics (functional heterogeneity, preference for teamwork, group potency, outcome expectation) and on performance of 83 work groups performing 2 decision-making tasks over a 15-week period. The individualists (U.S. students) reported higher levels of functional heterogeneity and group potency and attained higher levels of group performance than did the collectivists (Korean students). In addition, culture and time interacted to influence ratings of group potency and outcome expectation. The difference in ratings of group potency between individualists and collectivists increased over time. Outcome expectation was greater among the collectivists in Time 1 and among the individualists in Time 2. The authors discuss implications for future cross-cultural group research and international management.

  14. Simulations of KSTAR high performance steady state operation scenarios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Na, Yong-Su; Kessel, C.E.; Park, J.M.; Yi, Sumin; Kim, J.Y.; Becoulet, A.; Sips, A.C.C.

    2009-01-01

    We report the results of predictive modelling of high performance steady state operation scenarios in KSTAR. Firstly, the capabilities of steady state operation are investigated with time-dependent simulations using a free-boundary plasma equilibrium evolution code coupled with transport calculations. Secondly, the reproducibility of high performance steady state operation scenarios developed in the DIII-D tokamak, of similar size to that of KSTAR, is investigated using the experimental data taken from DIII-D. Finally, the capability of ITER-relevant steady state operation is investigated in KSTAR. It is found that KSTAR is able to establish high performance steady state operation scenarios; β N above 3, H 98 (y, 2) up to 2.0, f BS up to 0.76 and f NI equals 1.0. In this work, a realistic density profile is newly introduced for predictive simulations by employing the scaling law of a density peaking factor. The influence of the current ramp-up scenario and the transport model is discussed with respect to the fusion performance and non-inductive current drive fraction in the transport simulations. As observed in the experiments, both the heating and the plasma current waveforms in the current ramp-up phase produce a strong effect on the q-profile, the fusion performance and also on the non-inductive current drive fraction in the current flattop phase. A criterion in terms of q min is found to establish ITER-relevant steady state operation scenarios. This will provide a guideline for designing the current ramp-up phase in KSTAR. It is observed that the transport model also affects the predictive values of fusion performance as well as the non-inductive current drive fraction. The Weiland transport model predicts the highest fusion performance as well as non-inductive current drive fraction in KSTAR. In contrast, the GLF23 model exhibits the lowest ones. ITER-relevant advanced scenarios cannot be obtained with the GLF23 model in the conditions given in this work

  15. Features of an effective operative dentistry learning environment: students' perceptions and relationship with performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suksudaj, N; Lekkas, D; Kaidonis, J; Townsend, G C; Winning, T A

    2015-02-01

    Students' perceptions of their learning environment influence the quality of outcomes they achieve. Learning dental operative techniques in a simulated clinic environment is characterised by reciprocal interactions between skills training, staff- and student-related factors. However, few studies have examined how students perceive their operative learning environments and whether there is a relationship between their perceptions and subsequent performance. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify which learning activities and interactions students perceived as supporting their operative skills learning and to examine relationships with their outcomes. Longitudinal data about examples of operative laboratory sessions that were perceived as effective or ineffective for learning were collected twice a semester, using written critical incidents and interviews. Emergent themes from these data were identified using thematic analysis. Associations between perceptions of learning effectiveness and performance were analysed using chi-square tests. Students indicated that an effective learning environment involved interactions with tutors and peers. This included tutors arranging group discussions to clarify processes and outcomes, providing demonstrations and constructive feedback. Feedback focused on mistakes, and not improvement, was reported as being ineffective for learning. However, there was no significant association between students' perceptions of the effectiveness of their learning experiences and subsequent performance. It was clear that learning in an operative technique setting involved various factors related not only to social interactions and observational aspects of learning but also to cognitive, motivational and affective processes. Consistent with studies that have demonstrated complex interactions between students, their learning environment and outcomes, other factors need investigation. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. A comparative study of performance measurement standards of railway operator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pongjirawut Siripong

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The European standard (EN 13816, is one of the widely accepted standards for measuring the quality of public passenger transport (PPT service. EN 13816 indicates 8 measurement criteria, 29 sub-criteria and 193 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs to be used to measure the performance of railway operators. Nowadays, there are other addition criteria beyond EN13816, developed by various organisations. This research firstly aims to explore the service performance measurement of railway operators used by actual railway operators at international level and in Thailand. After an intensive review of performance measurement standards, 9 standards are compiled and compared in terms of criteria, sub-criteria and KPIs using a cluster analysis methodology. The result found additional performance measurement aspects at 2 sub-criteria and 91 KPIs in addition to EN 13816. This research summarized and compared different performance measurement standards to measure service quality of metro rail line.

  17. Symplectic Group Representation of the Two-Mode Squeezing Operator in the Coherent State Basis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Hong-Yi; Chen, Jun-Hua

    2003-11-01

    We find that the coherent state projection operator representation of the two-mode squeezing operator constitutes a loyal group representation of symplectic group, which is a remarkable property of the coherent state. As a consequence, the resultant effect of successively applying two-mode squeezing operators are equivalent to a single squeezing in the two-mode Fock space. Generalization of this property to the 2n-mode case is also discussed. The project supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 10575057

  18. PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT IN OPERATING DRY PORTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ciortescu Cezar-Gabriel

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, an approach for recognizing and defining correct and operable performance will be presented with the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of processes in dry ports (inland intermodal hubs. The challenge in evaluating the possible improvements of the underlying processes lies in the special nature and the complex structure of dry ports. It is important to consider that all the processes are highly interconnected and that changes in parameters in one process also have an impact on parameters in other processes. Furthermore, the performance of dry ports, seen as the backbone of the system, has a significant impact on the overall performance of the whole transportation network.

  19. Factors related to teamwork performance and stress of operating room nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonoda, Yukio; Onozuka, Daisuke; Hagihara, Akihito

    2018-01-01

    To evaluate operating room nurses' perception of teamwork performance and their level of mental stress and to identify related factors. Little is known about the factors affecting teamwork and the mental stress of surgical nurses, although the performance of the surgical team is essential for patient safety. The questionnaire survey for operation room nurses consisted of simple questions about teamwork performance and mental stress. Multivariate analyses were used to identify factors causing a sense of teamwork performance or mental stress. A large number of surgical nurses had a sense of teamwork performance, but 30-40% of operation room nurses were mentally stressed during surgery. Neither the patient nor the operation factors were related to the sense of teamwork performance in both types of nurses. Among scrub nurses, endoscopic and abdominal surgery, body mass index, blood loss and the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status class were related to their mental stress. Conversely, circulating nurses were stressed about teamwork performance. The factors related to teamwork performance and mental stress during surgery differed between scrub and circulating nurses. Increased support for operation room nurses is necessary. The increased support leads to safer surgical procedures and better patient outcomes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Predictors of operator performance at a simulated nuclear power plant control task

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spettell, C.M.

    1986-01-01

    Male undergraduates participated in two experiments as operators of a simple dynamic nuclear power plant simulated on a personal computer. Their task involved monitoring the temperature and power output of the plant and controlling the flow of coolants and the position of the control rods to ensure that the plant operated at the desired temperature and output levels. Quality of performance was defined as the operator's ability to minimize the deviations in temperature and output from optimal values during the trials. Operator inputs and the status of all plant variables were recorded on-line every two seconds. Based on a review of human factors engineering and psychological literature, a number of personality, background, and process variables were measured and correlated with operator performance. Results of both experiments indicated that the strongest predictors of operator performance were the rate, magnitude, and accuracy of operator inputs. Input rate and magnitude were negatively related to overall performance; input accuracy was positively related to performance. These process variables and overall performance were relatively stable across trials of varying difficulty

  1. Letting the Drama into Group Work: Using Conflict Constructively in Performing Arts Group Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crossley, Tracy

    2006-01-01

    The article examines conflict avoidance in performing arts group work and issues arising in relation to teaching and learning. In group theory, conflict is addressed largely in terms of its detrimental effects on group work, and its constructive potential is often marginalized. Similarly, undergraduate students usually interpret "effective…

  2. Method of performing a layer operation in a communications network

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bosch, H.G.P.; Mullender, Sape J.; Narlikar, G.J.

    2006-01-01

    In an embodiment of the present invention, a scheduling operation is performed at a lower layer based on upper layer information. In another embodiment of the present invention, an action is performed at an upper layer based on received lower layer information. Also, a scheduling operation may be

  3. Matrix multiplication operations with data pre-conditioning in a high performance computing architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichenberger, Alexandre E; Gschwind, Michael K; Gunnels, John A

    2013-11-05

    Mechanisms for performing matrix multiplication operations with data pre-conditioning in a high performance computing architecture are provided. A vector load operation is performed to load a first vector operand of the matrix multiplication operation to a first target vector register. A load and splat operation is performed to load an element of a second vector operand and replicating the element to each of a plurality of elements of a second target vector register. A multiply add operation is performed on elements of the first target vector register and elements of the second target vector register to generate a partial product of the matrix multiplication operation. The partial product of the matrix multiplication operation is accumulated with other partial products of the matrix multiplication operation.

  4. Critical Point Facility (CPE) Group in the Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    1992-01-01

    The primary payload for Space Shuttle Mission STS-42, launched January 22, 1992, was the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-1), a pressurized manned Spacelab module. The goal of IML-1 was to explore in depth the complex effects of weightlessness of living organisms and materials processing. Around-the-clock research was performed on the human nervous system's adaptation to low gravity and effects of microgravity on other life forms such as shrimp eggs, lentil seedlings, fruit fly eggs, and bacteria. Materials processing experiments were also conducted, including crystal growth from a variety of substances such as enzymes, mercury iodide, and a virus. The Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC) Spacelab Payload Operations Control Center (SL POCC) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was the air/ground communication channel used between the astronauts and ground control teams during the Spacelab missions. Featured is the Critical Point Facility (CPE) group in the SL POCC during STS-42, IML-1 mission.

  5. Operational safety system performance alternative to the WANO's indicator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lyra, Moacir

    2002-01-01

    One of the operational safety performance indicators recommended by the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) and adopted by Electronuclear is the reliability of the safety systems. The parameter selected to represent this indicator is the average unavailability of the trains of the concerned system. This parameter would be universally representative of the reliability for comparison purpose only if all nuclear power plants were designed within the same redundancy criteria. Considering the diversity of design criteria of the power plants in operation and based on a probabilistic approach, this paper proposes new performance indicators which are comparable regardless the redundancy criteria of the system. A case example applied to a system of the Angra 2 nuclear power plant shows that, even though with the plant in the infancy phase, the performance of the system in the period is very good. (author)

  6. Evaluating operator performance on full-scope simulators: A pragmatic approach to an intractable measurement problem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuld, R.

    1989-01-01

    Industry trends toward full-scope, plant-referenced control room simulators have accelerated. The cost of such training is high, but the cost of training ineffectiveness is even higher if it permits serious errors or operator disqualification to occur. Effective measures of operator performance are needed, but the complexity of the task environment and the many aspects of and requirements for operator performance conspire to make such measurement a challenging problem. Combustion Engineering (C-E) Owners' Group task No. 572 was undertaken to develop a tractable and effective methodology for evaluating team performance in a requalification context on full-scope simulator scenarios. The following concepts were pursued as design goals for the method: 1. validity; 2. sensitivity; 3. reliability; 4. usability. In addition, the resulting approach was to meet the requirements of ES-601, Implementation Guidance of the NRC for Administration of Requalifying Exams. A survey of existing evaluation tools and techniques was made to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each. Based on those findings, a multimethod approach was developed drawing on the combined strengths of several general methods. The paper discusses procedural milestones, comments as subjective ratings, failure criteria, and tracked plant parameters

  7. The BaBar detector: Upgrades, operation and performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aubert, B.; Barate, R.; Boutigny, D.; Couderc, F.; del Amo Sanchez, P.; Gaillard, J. -M.; Hicheur, A.; Karyotakis, Y.; Lees, J. P.; Poireau, V.; Prudent, X.; Robbe, P.; Tisserand, V.; Zghiche, A.; Grauges, E.; Garra Tico, J.; Lopez, L.; Martinelli, M.; Palano, A.; Pappagallo, M.; Pompili, A.; Chen, G. P.; Chen, J. C.; Qi, N. D.; Rong, G.; Wang, P.; Zhu, Y. S.; Eigen, G.; Stugu, B.; Sun, L.; Abrams, G. S.; Battaglia, M.; Borgland, A. W.; Breon, A. B.; Brown, D. N.; Button-Shafer, J.; Cahn, R. N.; Charles, E.; Clark, A. R.; Day, C. T.; Furman, M.; Gill, M. S.; Groysman, Y.; Jacobsen, R. G.; Kadel, R. W.; Kadyk, J. A.; Kerth, L. T.; Kolomensky, Yu. G.; Kral, J. F.; Kukartsev, G.; LeClerc, C.; Levi, M. E.; Lynch, G.; Merchant, A. M.; Mir, L. M.; Oddone, P. J.; Orimoto, T. J.; Osipenkov, I. L.; Pripstein, M.; Roe, N. A.; Romosan, A.; Ronan, M. T.; Shelkov, V. G.; Suzuki, A.; Tackmann, K.; Tanabe, T.; Wenzel, W. A.; Zisman, M.; Barrett, M.; Bright-Thomas, P. G.; Ford, K. E.; Harrison, T. J.; Hart, A. J.; Hawkes, C. M.; Knowles, D. J.; Morgan, S. E.; O' Neale, S. W.; Penny, R. C.; Smith, D.; Soni, N.; Watson, A. T.; Watson, N. K.; Goetzen, K.; Held, T.; Koch, H.; Kunze, M.; Lewandowski, B.; Pelizaeus, M.; Peters, K.; Schmuecker, H.; Schroeder, T.; Steinke, M.; Fella, A.; Antonioli, E.; Boyd, J. T.; Chevalier, N.; Cottingham, W. N.; Foster, B.; Mackay, C.; Walker, D.; Abe, K.; Asgeirsson, D. J.; Cuhadar-Donszelmann, T.; Fulsom, B. G.; Hearty, C.; Knecht, N. S.; Mattison, T. S.; McKenna, J. A.; Thiessen, D.; Khan, A.; Kyberd, P.; McKemey, A. K.; Randle-Conde, A.; Saleem, M.; Sherwood, D. J.; Teodorescu, L.; Blinov, V. E.; Bukin, A. D.; Buzykaev, A. R.; Druzhinin, V. P.; Golubev, V. B.; Korol, A. A.; Kravchenko, E. A.; Onuchin, A. P.; Serednyakov, S. I.; Skovpen, Yu. I.; Solodov, E. P.; Telnov, V. I.; Todyshev, K. Yu.; Yushkov, A. N.; Best, D. S.; Bondioli, M.; Bruinsma, M.; Chao, M.; Curry, S.; Eschrich, I.; Kirkby, D.; Lankford, A. J.; Mandelkern, M.; Martin, E. C.; McMahon, S.; Mommsen, R. K.; Stoker, D. P.; Abachi, S.; Buchanan, C.; Hartfiel, B. L.; Weinstein, A. J. R.; Atmacan, H.; Foulkes, S. D.; Gary, J. W.; Layter, J.; Liu, F.; Long, O.; Shen, B. C.; Vitug, G. M.; Wang, K.; Yasin, Z.; Zhang, L.; Hadavand, H. K.; Hill, E. J.; Paar, H. P.; Rahatlou, S.; Schwanke, U.; Sharma, V.; Berryhill, J. W.; Campagnari, C.; Cunha, A.; Dahmes, B.; Hong, T. M.; Kovalskyi, D.; Kuznetsova, N.; Levy, S. L.; Lu, A.; Mazur, M. A.; Richman, J. D.; Verkerke, W.; Beck, T. W.; Beringer, J.; Eisner, A. M.; Flacco, C. J.; Grillo, A. A.; Grothe, M.; Heusch, C. A.; Kroseberg, J.; Lockman, W. S.; Martinez, A. J.; Nesom, G.; Schalk, T.; Schmitz, R. E.; Schumm, B. A.; Seiden, A.; Spencer, E.; Spradlin, P.; Turri, M.; Walkowiak, W.; Wang, L.; Wilder, M.; Williams, D. C.; Wilson, M. G.; Winstrom, L. O.; Chen, E.; Cheng, C. H.; Doll, D. A.; Dorsten, M. P.; Dvoretskii, A.; Echenard, B.; Erwin, R. J.; Fang, F.; Flood, K.; Hitlin, D. G.; Metzler, S.; Narsky, I.; Oyang, J.; Piatenko, T.; Porter, F. C.; Ryd, A.; Samuel, A.; Yang, S.; Zhu, R. Y.; Andreassen, R.; Devmal, S.; Geld, T. L.; Jayatilleke, S.; Mancinelli, G.; Meadows, B. T.; Mishra, K.; Sokoloff, M. D.; Abe, T.; Antillon, E. A.; Barillari, T.; Becker, J.; Blanc, F.; Bloom, P. C.; Chen, S.; Clifton, Z. C.; Derrington, I. M.; Destree, J.; Dima, M. O.; Ford, W. T.; Gaz, A.; Gilman, J. D.; Hachtel, J.; Hirschauer, J. F.; Johnson, D. R.; Kreisel, A.; Nagel, M.; Nauenberg, U.; Olivas, A.; Rankin, P.; Roy, J.; Ruddick, W. O.; Smith, J. G.; Ulmer, K. A.; van Hoek, W. C.; Wagner, S. R.; West, C. G.; Zhang, J.; Ayad, R.; Blouw, J.; Chen, A.; Eckhart, E. A.; Harton, J. L.; Hu, T.; Toki, W. H.; Wilson, R. J.; Winklmeier, F.; Zeng, Q. L.; Altenburg, D.; Feltresi, E.; Hauke, A.; Jasper, H.; Karbach, M.; Merkel, J.; Petzold, A.; Spaan, B.; Wacker, K.; Brandt, T.; Brose, J.; Colberg, T.; Dahlinger, G.; Dickopp, M.; Eckstein, P.; Futterschneider, H.; Kaiser, S.; Kobel, M. J.; Krause, R.; Müller-Pfefferkorn, R.; Mader, W. F.; Maly, E.; Nogowski, R.; Otto, S.; Schubert, J.; Schubert, K. R.; Schwierz, R.; Sundermann, J. E.; Volk, A.; Wilden, L.; Bernard, D.; Brochard, F.; Cohen-Tanugi, J.; Dohou, F.; Ferrag, S.; Latour, E.; Mathieu, A.; Renard, C.; Schrenk, S.; T' Jampens, S.; Thiebaux, Ch.; Vasileiadis, G.; Verderi, M.; Anjomshoaa, A.; Bernet, R.; Clark, P. J.; Lavin, D. R.; Muheim, F.; Playfer, S.; Robertson, A. I.; Swain, J. E.; Watson, J. E.; Xie, Y.; Andreotti, D.; Andreotti, M.; Bettoni, D.; Bozzi, C.; Calabrese, R.; Carassiti, V.; Cecchi, A.; Cibinetto, G.; Cotta Ramusino, A.; Evangelisti, F.; Fioravanti, E.; Franchini, P.; Garzia, I.; Landi, L.; Luppi, E.; Malaguti, R.; Negrini, M.; Padoan, C.; Petrella, A.; Piemontese, L.; Santoro, V.; Sarti, A.; Anulli, F.; Baldini-Ferroli, R.; Calcaterra, A.; Finocchiaro, G.; Pacetti, S.; Patteri, P.; Peruzzi, I. M.; Piccolo, M.; Rama, M.; de Sangro, R.; Santoni, M.; Zallo, A.; Bagnasco, S.; Buzzo, A.; Capra, R.; Contri, R.; Crosetti, G.; Lo Vetere, M.; Macri, M. M.; Minutoli, S.; Monge, M. R.; Musico, P.; Passaggio, S.; Pastore, F. C.; Patrignani, C.; Pia, M. G.; Robutti, E.; Santroni, A.; Tosi, S.; Bhuyan, B.; Prasad, V.; Bailey, S.; Brandenburg, G.; Chaisanguanthum, K. S.; Lee, C. L.; Morii, M.; Won, E.; Wu, J.; Adametz, A.; Dubitzky, R. S.; Marks, J.; Schenk, S.; Uwer, U.; Klose, V.; Lacker, H. M.; Aspinwall, M. L.; Bhimji, W.; Bowerman, D. A.; Dauncey, P. D.; Egede, U.; Flack, R. L.; Gaillard, J. R.; Gunawardane, N. J. W.; Morton, G. W.; Nash, J. A.; Nikolich, M. B.; Panduro Vazquez, W.; Sanders, P.; Smith, D.; Taylor, G. P.; Tibbetts, M.; Behera, P. K.; Chai, X.; Charles, M. J.; Grenier, G. J.; Hamilton, R.; Lee, S. -J.; Mallik, U.; Meyer, N. T.; Chen, C.; Cochran, J.; Crawley, H. B.; Dong, L.; Eyges, V.; Fischer, P. -A.; Lamsa, J.; Meyer, W. T.; Prell, S.; Rosenberg, E. I.; Rubin, A. E.; Gao, Y. Y.; Gritsan, A. V.; Guo, Z. J.; Lae, C. K.; Schott, G.; Albert, J. N.; Arnaud, N.; Beigbeder, C.; Breton, D.; Davier, M.; Derkach, D.; Dû, S.; Firmino da Costa, J.; Grosdidier, G.; Höcker, A.; Laplace, S.; Le Diberder, F.; Lepeltier, V.; Lutz, A. M.; Malaescu, B.; Nief, J. Y.; Petersen, T. C.; Plaszczynski, S.; Pruvot, S.; Roudeau, P.; Schune, M. H.; Serrano, J.; Sordini, V.; Stocchi, A.; Tocut, V.; Trincaz-Duvoid, S.; Wang, L. L.; Wormser, G.; Bionta, R. M.; Brigljević, V.; Lange, D. J.; Simani, M. C.; Wright, D. M.; Bingham, I.; Burke, J. P.; Chavez, C. A.; Coleman, J. P.; Forster, I. J.; Fry, J. R.; Gabathuler, E.; Gamet, R.; George, M.; Hutchcroft, D. E.; Kay, M.; Parry, R. J.; Payne, D. J.; Schofield, K. C.; Sloane, R. J.; Touramanis, C.; Azzopardi, D. E.; Bellodi, G.; Bevan, A. J.; Clarke, C. K.; Cormack, C. M.; Di Lodovico, F.; Dixon, P.; George, K. A.; Menges, W.; Potter, R. J. L.; Sacco, R.; Shorthouse, H. W.; Sigamani, M.; Strother, P.; Vidal, P. B.; Brown, C. L.; Cowan, G.; Flaecher, H. U.; George, S.; Green, M. G.; Hopkins, D. A.; Jackson, P. S.; Kurup, A.; Marker, C. E.; McGrath, P.; McMahon, T. R.; Paramesvaran, S.; Salvatore, F.; Vaitsas, G.; Winter, M. A.; Wren, A. C.; Brown, D. N.; Davis, C. L.; Denig, A. G.; Fritsch, M.; Gradl, W.; Griessinger, K.; Hafner, A.; Prencipe, E.; Allison, J.; Alwyn, K. E.; Bailey, D. S.; Barlow, N. R.; Barlow, R. J.; Chia, Y. M.; Edgar, C. L.; Forti, A. C.; Fullwood, J.; Hart, P. A.; Hodgkinson, M. C.; Jackson, F.; Jackson, G.; Kelly, M. P.; Kolya, S. D.; Lafferty, G. D.; Lyon, A. J.; Naisbit, M. T.; Savvas, N.; Weatherall, J. H.; West, T. J.; Williams, J. C.; Yi, J. I.; Anderson, J.; Farbin, A.; Hulsbergen, W. D.; Jawahery, A.; Lillard, V.; Roberts, D. A.; Schieck, J. R.; Simi, G.; Tuggle, J. M.; Blaylock, G.; Dallapiccola, C.; Hertzbach, S. S.; Kofler, R.; Koptchev, V. B.; Li, X.; Moore, T. B.; Salvati, E.; Saremi, S.; Staengle, H.; Willocq, S. Y.; Cowan, R.; Dujmic, D.; Fisher, P. H.; Henderson, S. W.; Koeneke, K.; Lang, M. I.; Sciolla, G.; Spitznagel, M.; Taylor, F.; Yamamoto, R. K.; Yi, M.; Zhao, M.; Zheng, Y.; Klemetti, M.; Lindemann, D.; Mangeol, D. J. J.; Mclachlin, S. E.; Milek, M.; Patel, P. M.; Robertson, S. H.; Biassoni, P.; Cerizza, G.; Lazzaro, A.; Lombardo, V.; Neri, N.; Palombo, F.; Pellegrini, R.; Stracka, S.; Bauer, J. M.; Cremaldi, L.; Eschenburg, V.; Kroeger, R.; Reidy, J.; Sanders, D. A.; Summers, D. J.; Zhao, H. W.; Godang, R.; Brunet, S.; Cote, D.; Nguyen, X.; Simard, M.; Taras, P.; Viaud, B.; Nicholson, H.; Cavallo, N.; De Nardo, G.; Fabozzi, F.; Gatto, C.; Lista, L.; Monorchio, D.; Onorato, G.; Paolucci, P.; Piccolo, D.; Sciacca, C.; Baak, M. A.; Raven, G.; Snoek, H. L.; Jessop, C. P.; Knoepfel, K. J.; LoSecco, J. M.; Wang, W. F.; Allmendinger, T.; Benelli, G.; Brau, B.; Corwin, L. A.; Gan, K. K.; Honscheid, K.; Hufnagel, D.; Kagan, H.; Kass, R.; Morris, J. P.; Rahimi, A. M.; Regensburger, J. J.; Smith, D. S.; Ter-Antonyan, R.; Wong, Q. K.; Blount, N. L.; Brau, J.; Frey, R.; Igonkina, O.; Iwasaki, M.; Kolb, J. A.; Lu, M.; Potter, C. T.; Rahmat, R.; Sinev, N. B.; Strom, D.; Strube, J.; Torrence, E.; Borsato, E.; Castelli, G.; Colecchia, F.; Crescente, A.; Dal Corso, F.; Dorigo, A.; Fanin, C.; Furano, F.; Gagliardi, N.; Galeazzi, F.; Margoni, M.; Marzolla, M.; Michelon, G.; Morandin, M.; Posocco, M.; Rotondo, M.; Simonetto, F.; Solagna, P.; Stevanato, E.; Stroili, R.; Tiozzo, G.; Voci, C.; Akar, S.; Bailly, P.; Ben-Haim, E.; Bonneaud, G.; Briand, H.; Chauveau, J.; Hamon, O.; John, M. J. J.; Lebbolo, H.; Leruste, Ph.; Malclès, J.; Marchiori, G.; Martin, L.; Ocariz, J.; Perez, A.; Pivk, M.; Prendki, J.; Roos, L.; Sitt, S.; Stark, J.; Thérin, G.; Vallereau, A.; Biasini, M.; Covarelli, R.; Manoni, E.; Pennazzi, S.; Pioppi, M.; Angelini, C.; Batignani, G.; Bettarini, S.; Bosi, F.; Bucci, F.; Calderini, G.; Carpinelli, M.; Cenci, R.; Cervelli, A.; Forti, F.; Giorgi, M. A.; Lusiani, A.; Marchiori, G.; Morganti, M.; Morsani, F.; Paoloni, E.; Raffaelli, F.; Rizzo, G.; Sandrelli, F.; Triggiani, G.; Walsh, J. J.; Haire, M.; Judd, D.; Biesiada, J.; Danielson, N.; Elmer, P.; Fernholz, R. E.; Lau, Y. P.; Lu, C.; Miftakov, V.; Olsen, J.; Lopes Pegna, D.; Sands, W. R.; Smith, A. J. S.; Telnov, A. V.; Tumanov, A.; Varnes, E. W.; Baracchini, E.; Bellini, F.; Bulfon, C.; Buccheri, E.; Cavoto, G.; D' Orazio, A.; Di Marco, E.; Faccini, R.; Ferrarotto, F.; Ferroni, F.; Gaspero, M.; Jackson, P. D.; Lamanna, E.; Leonardi, E.; Li Gioi, L.; Lunadei, R.; Mazzoni, M. A.; Morganti, S.; Piredda, G.; Polci, F.; del Re, D.; Renga, F.; Safai Tehrani, F.; Serra, M.; Voena, C.; Bünger, C.; Christ, S.; Hartmann, T.; Leddig, T.; Schröder, H.; Wagner, G.; Waldi, R.; Adye, T.; Bly, M.; Brew, C.; Condurache, C.; De Groot, N.; Franek, B.; Geddes, N. I.; Gopal, G. P.; Olaiya, E. O.; Ricciardi, S.; Roethel, W.; Wilson, F. F.; Xella, S. M.; Aleksan, R.; Bourgeois, P.; Emery, S.; Escalier, M.; Esteve, L.; Gaidot, A.; Ganzhur, S. F.; Giraud, P. -F.; Georgette, Z.; Graziani, G.; Hamel de Monchenault, G.; Kozanecki, W.; Langer, M.; Legendre, M.; London, G. W.; Mayer, B.; Micout, P.; Serfass, B.; Vasseur, G.; Yèche, Ch.; Zito, M.; Allen, M. T.; Akre, R.; Aston, D.; Azemoon, T.; Bard, D. J.; Bartelt, J.; Bartoldus, R.; Bechtle, P.; Becla, J.; Benitez, J. F.; Berger, N.; Bertsche, K.; Boeheim, C. T.; Bouldin, K.; Boyarski, A. M.; Boyce, R. F.; Browne, M.; Buchmueller, O. L.; Burgess, W.; Cai, Y.; Cartaro, C.; Ceseracciu, A.; Claus, R.; Convery, M. R.; Coupal, D. P.; Craddock, W. W.; Crane, G.; Cristinziani, M.; DeBarger, S.; Decker, F. J.; Dingfelder, J. C.; Donald, M.; Dorfan, J.; Dubois-Felsmann, G. P.; Dunwoodie, W.; Ebert, M.; Ecklund, S.; Erickson, R.; Fan, S.; Field, R. C.; Fisher, A.; Fox, J.; Franco Sevilla, M.; Fulsom, B. G.; Gabareen, A. M.; Gaponenko, I.; Glanzman, T.; Gowdy, S. J.; Graham, M. T.; Grenier, P.; Hadig, T.; Halyo, V.; Haller, G.; Hamilton, J.; Hanushevsky, A.; Hasan, A.; Hast, C.; Hee, C.; Himel, T.; Hryn' ova, T.; Huffer, M. E.; Hung, T.; Innes, W. R.; Iverson, R.; Kaminski, J.; Kelsey, M. H.; Kim, H.; Kim, P.; Kharakh, D.; Kocian, M. L.; Krasnykh, A.; Krebs, J.; Kroeger, W.; Kulikov, A.; Kurita, N.; Langenegger, U.; Leith, D. W. G. S.; Lewis, P.; Li, S.; Libby, J.; Lindquist, B.; Luitz, S.; Lüth, V.; Lynch, H. L.; MacFarlane, D. B.; Marsiske, H.; McCulloch, M.; McDonald, J.; Melen, R.; Menke, S.; Metcalfe, S.; Messner, R.; Moss, L. J.; Mount, R.; Muller, D. R.; Neal, H.; Nelson, D.; Nelson, S.; Nordby, M.; Nosochkov, Y.; Novokhatski, A.; O' Grady, C. P.; O' Neill, F. G.; Ofte, I.; Ozcan, V. E.; Perazzo, A.; Perl, M.; Petrak, S.; Piemontese, M.; Pierson, S.; Pulliam, T.; Ratcliff, B. N.; Ratkovsky, S.; Reif, R.; Rivetta, C.; Rodriguez, R.; Roodman, A.; Salnikov, A. A.; Schietinger, T.; Schindler, R. H.; Schwarz, H.; Schwiening, J.; Seeman, J.; Smith, D.; Snyder, A.; Soha, A.; Stanek, M.; Stelzer, J.; Su, D.; Sullivan, M. K.; Suzuki, K.; Swain, S. K.; Tanaka, H. A.; Teytelman, D.; Thompson, J. M.; Tinslay, J. S.; Trunov, A.; Turner, J.; van Bakel, N.; van Winkle, D.; Va' vra, J.; Wagner, A. P.; Weaver, M.; Weinstein, A. J. R.; Weber, T.; West, C. A.; Wienands, U.; Wisniewski, W. J.; Wittgen, M.; Wittmer, W.; Wright, D. H.; Wulsin, H. W.; Yan, Y.; Yarritu, A. K.; Yi, K.; Yocky, G.; Young, C. C.; Ziegler, V.; Chen, X. R.; Liu, H.; Park, W.; Purohit, M. V.; Singh, H.; Weidemann, A. W.; White, R. M.; Wilson, J. R.; Yumiceva, F. X.; Sekula, S. J.; Bellis, M.; Burchat, P. R.; Edwards, A. J.; Majewski, S. A.; Meyer, T. I.; Miyashita, T. S.; Petersen, B. A.; Roat, C.; Ahmed, M.; Ahmed, S.; Alam, M. S.; Bula, R.; Ernst, J. A.; Jain, V.; Liu, J.; Pan, B.; Saeed, M. A.; Wappler, F. R.; Zain, S. B.; Gorodeisky, R.; Guttman, N.; Peimer, D.; Soffer, A.; De Silva, A.; Lund, P.; Krishnamurthy, M.; Ragghianti, G.; Spanier, S. M.; Wogsland, B. J.; Eckmann, R.; Ritchie, J. L.; Ruland, A. M.; Satpathy, A.; Schilling, C. J.; Schwitters, R. F.; Wray, B. C.; Drummond, B. W.; Izen, J. M.; Kitayama, I.; Lou, X. C.; Ye, S.; Bianchi, F.; Bona, M.; Gallo, F.; Gamba, D.; Pelliccioni, M.; Bomben, M.; Borean, C.; Bosisio, L.; Cossutti, F.; Della Ricca, G.; Dittongo, S.; Grancagnolo, S.; Lanceri, L.; Poropat, P.; Rashevskaya, I.; Vitale, L.; Vuagnin, G.; Manfredi, P. F.; Re, V.; Speziali, V.; Frank, E. D.; Gladney, L.; Guo, Q. H.; Panetta, J.; Azzolini, V.; Lopez-March, N.; Martinez-Vidal, F.; Milanes, D. A.; Oyanguren, A.; Agarwal, A.; Albert, J.; Banerjee, Sw.; Bernlochner, F. U.; Brown, C. M.; Choi, H. H. F.; Fortin, D.; Fransham, K. B.; Hamano, K.; Kowalewski, R.; Lewczuk, M. J.; Nugent, I. M.; Roney, J. M.; Sobie, R. J.; Back, J. J.; Gershon, T. J.; Harrison, P. F.; Ilic, J.; Latham, T. E.; Mohanty, G. B.; Puccio, E.; Band, H. R.; Chen, X.; Cheng, B.; Dasu, S.; Datta, M.; Eichenbaum, A. M.; Hollar, J. J.; Hu, H.; Johnson, J. R.; Kutter, P. E.; Li, H.; Liu, R.; Mellado, B.; Mihalyi, A.; Mohapatra, A. K.; Pan, Y.; Pierini, M.; Prepost, R.; Scott, I. J.; Tan, P.; Vuosalo, C. O.; von Wimmersperg-Toeller, J. H.; Wu, S. L.; Yu, Z.; Greene, M. G.; Kordich, T. M. B.

    2013-11-01

    The BaBar detector operated successfully at the PEP-II asymmetric e+e- collider at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory from 1999 to 2008. This report covers upgrades, operation, and performance of the collider and the detector systems, as well as the trigger, online and offline computing, and aspects of event reconstruction since the beginning of data taking.

  8. Autonomous Diagnostic Imaging Performed by Untrained Operators using Augmented Reality as a Form of "Just-in-Time" Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, D. S.; Wang, L.; Laurie, S. S.; Lee, S. M. C.; Fleischer, A. C.; Gibson, C. R.; Stenger, M. B.

    2017-01-01

    We will address the Human Factors and Performance Team, "Risk of performance errors due to training deficiencies" by improving the JIT training materials for ultrasound and OCT imaging by providing advanced guidance in a detailed, timely, and user-friendly manner. Specifically, we will (1) develop an audio-visual tutorial using AR that guides non-experts through an abdominal trauma ultrasound protocol; (2) develop an audio-visual tutorial using AR to guide an untrained operator through the acquisition of OCT images; (3) evaluate the quality of abdominal ultrasound and OCT images acquired by untrained operators using AR guidance compared to images acquired using traditional JIT techniques (laptop-based training conducted before image acquisition); and (4) compare the time required to complete imaging studies using AR tutorials with images acquired using current JIT practices to identify areas for time efficiency improvements. Two groups of subjects will be recruited to participate in this study. Operator-subjects, without previous experience in ultrasound or OCT, will be asked to perform both procedures using either the JIT training with AR technology or the traditional JIT training via laptop. Images acquired by inexperienced operator-subjects will be scored by experts in that imaging modality for diagnostic and research quality; experts will be blinded to the form of JIT used to acquire the images. Operator-subjects also will be asked to submit feedback to improve the training modules used during the scans to improve future training modules. Scanned-subjects will be a small group individuals from whom all images will be acquired.

  9. Autonomous Diagnostic Imaging Performed by Untrained Operator Using Augmented Reality as a Form of "Just-in-Time" Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, David S.; Wang, Lui; Laurie, Steven S.; Lee, Stuart M. C.; Stenger, Michael B.

    2017-01-01

    We will address the Human Factors and Performance Team, "Risk of performance errors due to training deficiencies" by improving the JIT training materials for ultrasound and OCT imaging by providing advanced guidance in a detailed, timely, and user-friendly manner. Specifically, we will (1) develop an audio-visual tutorial using AR that guides non-experts through an abdominal trauma ultrasound protocol; (2) develop an audio-visual tutorial using AR to guide an untrained operator through the acquisition of OCT images; (3) evaluate the quality of abdominal ultrasound and OCT images acquired by untrained operators using AR guidance compared to images acquired using traditional JIT techniques (laptop-based training conducted before image acquisition); and (4) compare the time required to complete imaging studies using AR tutorials with images acquired using current JIT practices to identify areas for time efficiency improvements. Two groups of subjects will be recruited to participate in this study. Operator-subjects, without previous experience in ultrasound or OCT, will be asked to perform both procedures using either the JIT training with AR technology or the traditional JIT training via laptop. Images acquired by inexperienced operator-subjects will be scored by experts in that imaging modality for diagnostic and research quality; experts will be blinded to the form of JIT used to acquire the images. Operator-subjects also will be asked to submit feedback to improve the training modules used during the scans to improve future training modules. Scanned-subjects will be a small group individuals from whom all images will be acquired.

  10. A model-based approach to operational event groups ranking

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Simic, Zdenko [European Commission Joint Research Centre, Petten (Netherlands). Inst. for Energy and Transport; Maqua, Michael [Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit mbH (GRS), Koeln (Germany); Wattrelos, Didier [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN), Fontenay-aux-Roses (France)

    2014-04-15

    The operational experience (OE) feedback provides improvements in all industrial activities. Identification of the most important and valuable groups of events within accumulated experience is important in order to focus on a detailed investigation of events. The paper describes the new ranking method and compares it with three others. Methods have been described and applied to OE events utilised by nuclear power plants in France and Germany for twenty years. The results show that different ranking methods only roughly agree on which of the event groups are the most important ones. In the new ranking method the analytical hierarchy process is applied in order to assure consistent and comprehensive weighting determination for ranking indexes. The proposed method allows a transparent and flexible event groups ranking and identification of the most important OE for further more detailed investigation in order to complete the feedback. (orig.)

  11. FIRMS’ TRANSNATIONALIZATION. EVOLUTION OF MULTINATIONAL GROUPS OPERATING IN ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmen NISTOR

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available International business development is a complex phenomenon, characterized by a particularly dynamic due both to external and internal factors of the company and the need to foreshadow future directions in the development of the economic, social, political framework. Taking into consideration the ways that a company can expand, this article aims to analyse the evolution of multinational corporations operating in Romania in 2007-2012. Using data provided by The National Institute of Statistics (NIS, we focus on the multinationals groups that entered Romanian market in the period mentioned above. In this regard, we compared the multinational groups with the national ones, identifying the concentration of foreign capital by country. The results show that although has been recorded a significant variation of multinational groups in Romania, especially during the financial crisis period, the companies from Deutschland occupy first place by number of employees.

  12. OPERATIVE GROUP: EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE AS AN EXPRESSION FOR SELF-CARE IN DIABETES MELLITUS TYPE 2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Almeida Maia

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The goal is to understand the views of users with type 2 diabetes about their participation in the operating groups and the impact of self-care practices. This is a qualitative descriptive- exploratory held in three basic health units of the sanitary district east of Belo Horizonte and involved the participation of 18 users in 2011. The speeches of the users were analyzed based on content analysis, identifying the categories: exchange of experience, education for self- care, assessment of user participation in the operative groups, Feelings and links between professionals and users. It was noted that the operational groups provided the construction of knowledge through listening, reflection and questioning of reality where the user identified the importance of knowledge about diet, physical activity and treatment. We found that health actions implemented through the operational groups encourage users to think about your lifestyle, characterized as a tool in health education from the perspective of promotion, prevention and control.

  13. Managing Human Performance to Improve Nuclear Facility Operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    . It describes how human performance can be managed within an overall performance improvement model. The need for IAEA involvement in this area and to address key issues highlighted in IAEA Nuclear Energy Series No. NG-G-2.1 were reinforced during the meetings of the Technical Working Group on Managing Human Resources in the Field of Nuclear Energy (TWG-MHR) in 2008 and 2010. The importance of human performance in the safe operation of any nuclear facility is no longer in doubt. The contribution of human performance to the occurrence of significant events and, consequently, to overall performance in the nuclear field has been well documented. Monitoring and continually improving human performance has now become one of the key challenges in the management of human resources for nuclear facilities. To facilitate meeting the challenge of improving human performance, a model of performance improvement is presented that provides a framework which can be used to improve individual, process and organizational performance. It is generally postulated that without human performance improvement, a safe working environment is impossible to maintain. While there are many different perspectives from which safety issues might be addressed, there are several factors significant for human performance improvement that are consistent, useful and necessary to understand. This publication is not intended as an all encompassing guide to managing human performance, but, rather, provides a summary of concepts and good practices for organizations to consider in their design of various programmes and in the performance of activities. In addition, tools that are helpful for managing human performance are discussed, and references for more detailed information on these concepts and tools are provided

  14. Study on the identification of main drivers affecting the performance of human operators during low power and shutdown operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Ar Ryum; Park, Jinkyun; Kim, Ji Tae; Kim, Jaewhan; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The performance of human operator during LPSD operation is significantly important. • Human performance is affected by drivers such as procedure, training, and etc. • Main drivers during LPSD operation at domestic NPPs were suggested. • It is expected that it will be used for estimating human reliability during LPSD operation. - Abstract: In the past, many researchers believed that a reactor during low power and shutdown operation was sufficiently safe. This belief has been changed by the number of accidents during such types of operation, which is significantly high. Also, it was pointed out that one of the main differences between low power and shutdown operation and full power operation is the significance of human action because there are huge amounts of human actions due to extensive maintenance and testing while automatic control and safety functions may be disabled and procedures are insufficient or incomplete. This paper suggests the main drivers in performing human reliability analysis. For this study, we reviewed eight reports relating to human performance during low power and shutdown operation and applied a root cause analysis method for 53 human or human-related events at domestic nuclear power plants to derive the main drivers that affect the occurrence of those events. As a result, several main drivers were derived, such as procedures, training, experience of personnel, and workload/stress. It is expected that these main drivers will be used to perform human reliability analysis for low power and shutdown operation.

  15. World class performance: the outage/operating cycle continuum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Remphal, M. [Ontario Power Generation, Darlington, Ontario (Canada)

    2011-07-01

    It's all about Performance! Predictable and sustainable high performance is the key to public and stakeholder confidence in the nuclear industry. Why? Because nuclear is unique and safe, reliable operation each and every day is required to keep public trust. What better way to demonstrate this predictability than in breaker to breaker operating runs? Delivering on what was promised is the essence of our OPG accountability model: 'Say it, Do it'. This presentation is drawn from practical experience gained during the most recent planned maintenance outages at Darlington Nuclear. Key elements for outage success that will be discussed include; Human Performance: Ensuring each action is deliberate and executed right the first time; Continuous Learning: Recent examples demonstrating how drawing from lessons learned and operating experience worldwide can dramatically improve outage performance; Teamwork and Partnership: Recognizing our industry is too complex for a single; individual or organization to run on its own; Scope Selection: Darlington currently has an industry leading 0.5% Forced Loss Rate (FLR). If right work is selected and executed at the right time then ultimately the plant speaks and it shows up in low FLR and high Nuclear Performance Index; Planning: Ask and anticipate what can go wrong, what options exist and then pre-decide what path you would take. Some practical tools will be provided which have been recently used to plan out surprises; Oversight: An outage left to run its own course will have a surprise outcome. Strong management oversight is required to meet the goals of outage execution. Tips on how to improve communication and accountability will be discussed. Trust is built on confidence and confidence is built on sustainable performance. World class sustainable performance requires using all the tools available. This discussion will provide insight on these very tools. (author)

  16. World class performance: the outage/operating cycle continuum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Remphal, M.

    2011-01-01

    It's all about Performance! Predictable and sustainable high performance is the key to public and stakeholder confidence in the nuclear industry. Why? Because nuclear is unique and safe, reliable operation each and every day is required to keep public trust. What better way to demonstrate this predictability than in breaker to breaker operating runs? Delivering on what was promised is the essence of our OPG accountability model: 'Say it, Do it'. This presentation is drawn from practical experience gained during the most recent planned maintenance outages at Darlington Nuclear. Key elements for outage success that will be discussed include; Human Performance: Ensuring each action is deliberate and executed right the first time; Continuous Learning: Recent examples demonstrating how drawing from lessons learned and operating experience worldwide can dramatically improve outage performance; Teamwork and Partnership: Recognizing our industry is too complex for a single; individual or organization to run on its own; Scope Selection: Darlington currently has an industry leading 0.5% Forced Loss Rate (FLR). If right work is selected and executed at the right time then ultimately the plant speaks and it shows up in low FLR and high Nuclear Performance Index; Planning: Ask and anticipate what can go wrong, what options exist and then pre-decide what path you would take. Some practical tools will be provided which have been recently used to plan out surprises; Oversight: An outage left to run its own course will have a surprise outcome. Strong management oversight is required to meet the goals of outage execution. Tips on how to improve communication and accountability will be discussed. Trust is built on confidence and confidence is built on sustainable performance. World class sustainable performance requires using all the tools available. This discussion will provide insight on these very tools. (author)

  17. Operational Practices and Financial Performance: an Empirical Analysis of Brazilian Manufacturing Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    André Luís de Castro Moura Duarte

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available In the operations management field, operational practices like total quality management or just in time have been seen as a way to improve operational performance and ultimately financial performance. Empirical support for this effect of operational practices in financial performance has been, however, limited due to research design and the inherent difficulties of using performance as a dependent variable. In this paper, we tested the relationship between selected operational practices (quality management, just in time, ISO certification and services outsourcing in financial performance outcomes of profitability and growth. A sample of 1200 firms, operating in São Paulo, Brazil, was used. Analysis using multiple regression explored the direct effect of practices and their interaction with industry dummies. Results did not support the existence of a positive relationship with financial performance. A negative relationship of outsourcing with both profitability and growth was found, supporting some critical views of the outsourcing practice. A weaker negative relationship between ISO certification and growth was also found. Some interactions between practices and industries were also significant, with mixed results, indicating that the effect of practices on performance might be context dependent.

  18. q-deformed differential operator algebra and new braid group representation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Luyu; Dai Jianghui; Zhang Jun

    1991-01-01

    It is proved that the q-deformed differential operator algebra introduced is consistent with quantum hyperplane described by Wess and Zumino. At the same time, a new braid group representation associated with sl q (2) is obtained by adding the terms of weight conservation to the standard universal R-matrix. (author). 10 refs

  19. Performance values for non destructive assay (NDA) techniques applied to safeguards: the 2002 evaluation by the ESARDA NDA Working Group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guardini, S.

    2003-01-01

    The first evaluation of NDA performance values undertaken by the ESARDA Working Group for Standards and Non Destructive Assay Techniques (WGNDA) was published in 1993. Almost 10 years later the Working Group decided to review those values, to report about improvements and to issue new performance values for techniques which were not applied in the early nineties, or were at that time only emerging. Non-Destructive Assay techniques have become more and more important in recent years, and they are used to a large extent in nuclear material accountancy and control both by operators and control authorities. As a consequence, the performance evaluation for NDA techniques is of particular relevance to safeguards authorities in optimising Safeguards operations and reducing costs. Performance values are important also for NMAC regulators, to define detection levels, limits for anomalies, goal quantities and to negotiate basic audit rules. This paper presents the latest evaluation of ESARDA Performance Values (EPVs) for the most common NDA techniques currently used for the assay of nuclear materials for Safeguards purposes. The main topics covered by the document are: techniques for plutonium bearing materials: PuO 2 and MOX; techniques for U-bearing materials; techniques for U and Pu in liquid form; techniques for spent fuel assay. This issue of the performance values is the result of specific international round robin exercises, field measurements and ad hoc experiments, evaluated and discussed in the ESARDA NDA Working Group. (author)

  20. ATLAS Silicon Microstrip Tracker Operation and Performance

    CERN Document Server

    Barone, G; The ATLAS collaboration

    2013-01-01

    The Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) is a silicon strip detector and one of the key precision tracking devices of the Inner Detector of the ATLAS experiment at CERN LHC. The SCT is constructed of $4088$ silicon detector modules for a total of 6.3 million channels. Each module is designed, constructed and tested to operate as a stand-alone unit, mechanically, electrically, optically and thermally. The modules are mounted into two types of structures: one barrel ($4$ cylinders) and two end-cap systems (9 disks on each). The current results from the successful operation of the SCT Detector at the LHC and its status after three years of operation will be presented. The operation of the detector including an overview of the main issues encountered is reported. The main emphasis is be given to the tracking performance of the SCT and the data quality during the $>2$ years of data taking of proton-proton collision data at $7$ TeV (and short periods of heavy ion collisions). The SCT has been fully operational throughout a...

  1. Evaluation of operating experience for early recognition of deteriorating safety performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beckmerhagen, I.A.; Berg, H.P.

    2004-01-01

    One of the most difficult challenges facing nuclear power plants is to recognize the early signs of degrading safety performance before regulatory requirements are imposed or serious incidents or accidents occur. Today, the nuclear industry is striving for collecting more information on occurrences that could improve the operational safety performance. To achieve this, the reporting threshold has been lowered from incidents to anomalies with minor or no impact to safety. Industry experience (also outside nuclear industry) has shown that these are typical issues which should be considered when looking for such early warning signs. Therefore, it is important that nuclear power plant operators have the capability to trend, analyse and recognize early warning signs of deteriorating performance. It is necessary that plant operators are sensitive to these warning signs which may not be immediately evident. Reviewing operating experience is one of the main tasks for plant operators in their daily activities. Therefore, self assessment should be at the centre of any operational safety performance programme. One way of applying a self assessment program is through the following four basic elements: operational data, events, safety basis, and related experience. This approach will be described in the paper in more details. (authors)

  2. The effect of specialization on operational performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Halkjær, Søren; Lueg, Rainer

    2017-01-01

    -methods approach that includes proprietary data from the management control system of the hospital, public documentation on the policy change, as well as interviews with key informants. These data suggest that operational deficiency is related to the fact that specialization was externally enforced through......Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze how specialization in hospitals affects operational performance, measured by the length of stay and readmission rate. The authors assess a public policy change in the Danish healthcare sector from 2011 which required that some hospital services had...

  3. An empirical investigation of operator performance in cognitively demanding simulated emergencies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roth, E.M.; Mumaw, R.J.; Lewis, P.M.

    1994-07-01

    This report documents the results of an empirical study of nuclear power plant operator performance in cognitively demanding simulated emergencies. During emergencies operators follow highly prescriptive written procedures. The objectives of the study were to understand and document what role higher-level cognitive activities such as diagnosis, or more generally 'situation assessment', play in guiding operator performance, given that operators utilize procedures in responding to the events. The study examined crew performance in variants of two emergencies: (1) an Interfacing System Loss of Coolant Accident and (2) a Loss of Heat Sink scenario. Data on operator performance were collected using training simulators at two plant sites. Up to 11 crews from each plant participated in each of two simulated emergencies for a total of 38 cases. Crew performance was videotaped and partial transcripts were produced and analyzed. The results revealed a number of instances where higher-level cognitive activities such as situation assessment and response planning enabled crews to handle aspects of the situation that were not fully addressed by the procedures. This report documents these cases and discusses their implications for the development and evaluation of training and control room aids, as well as for human reliability analyses

  4. A practical model for sustainable operational performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vlek, C.A.J.; Steg, E.M.; Feenstra, D.; Gerbens-Leenis, W.; Lindenberg, S.; Moll, H.; Schoot Uiterkamp, A.; Sijtsma, F.; Van Witteloostuijn, A.

    2002-01-01

    By means of a concrete model for sustainable operational performance enterprises can report uniformly on the sustainability of their contributions to the economy, welfare and the environment. The development and design of a three-dimensional monitoring system is presented and discussed [nl

  5. C++ and operating systems performance - A case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, Vincent F.; Madany, Peter W.; Campbell, Roy H.

    1990-01-01

    Object-oriented design and programming has many software engineering advantages. Its application to large systems, however, has previously been constrained by performance concerns. The Choices operating system, which has over 75,000 lines of code, is object-oriented and programmed in C++. This paper is a case study of the performance of Choices.

  6. Performance impact of mutation operators of a subpopulation-based genetic algorithm for multi-robot task allocation problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chun; Kroll, Andreas

    2016-01-01

    Multi-robot task allocation determines the task sequence and distribution for a group of robots in multi-robot systems, which is one of constrained combinatorial optimization problems and more complex in case of cooperative tasks because they introduce additional spatial and temporal constraints. To solve multi-robot task allocation problems with cooperative tasks efficiently, a subpopulation-based genetic algorithm, a crossover-free genetic algorithm employing mutation operators and elitism selection in each subpopulation, is developed in this paper. Moreover, the impact of mutation operators (swap, insertion, inversion, displacement, and their various combinations) is analyzed when solving several industrial plant inspection problems. The experimental results show that: (1) the proposed genetic algorithm can obtain better solutions than the tested binary tournament genetic algorithm with partially mapped crossover; (2) inversion mutation performs better than other tested mutation operators when solving problems without cooperative tasks, and the swap-inversion combination performs better than other tested mutation operators/combinations when solving problems with cooperative tasks. As it is difficult to produce all desired effects with a single mutation operator, using multiple mutation operators (including both inversion and swap) is suggested when solving similar combinatorial optimization problems.

  7. Performance confirmation operation of water environment control facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magome, Hirokatsu; Okada, Yuji; Tomita, Kenji; Iida, Kazuhiro; Ando, Hitoshi; Yonekawa, Akihisa; Ueda, Haruyasu; Hanawa, Hiroshi; Kanno, Masaru; Sakuta, Yoshiyuki

    2015-09-01

    In Japan Atomic Energy Agency, in order to solve the problem in the long-term operation of a light water reactor, preparation which does the irradiation experiment of light-water reactor fuel and material was advanced. JMTR stopped after the 165th operation cycle in August 2006, and is advancing renewal of the irradiation facility towards re-operation. The material irradiation test facility was installed from 2008 fiscal year to 2012 fiscal year in JMTR. The material irradiation test facility is used for IASCC study, and consists of mainly three equipments. This report described performance operating test of the water environmental control facilities for IASCC study carried out 2013 fiscal year. (author)

  8. Method of independently operating a group of stages within a diffusion cascade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benedict, M.; Allen, J.F.; Levey, H.B.

    1976-01-01

    A method of operating a group of the diffusion stages of a productive diffusion cascade with counter-current flow is described. The group consists of a top and a bottom stage which isolates the group from the cascade. The diffused gas produced in the top stage is circulated to the feed of the bottom stage, while at the same time undiffused gas from the bottom stage is circulated to the feed of the top stage whereby major changes in inventory distribution within the group of stages are prevented

  9. Simulator experiments: effects of experience of senior reactor operators and of presence of a shift technical advisor on performance in a boiling water reactor control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beare, A.N.; Dorris, R.E.; Gray, L.H.

    1984-12-01

    This report describes the first experiment in a Nuclear Regulatory Commission-sponsored program of training simulator experiments and field data collection to evaluate the effects of selected performance shaping factors on the performance of nuclear power plant control room operators. The factors investigated were the experience level of the Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) and the presence of a Shift Technical Advisor (STA). Data were collected from 16 two-man crews of licensed operators (one SRO and one RO). The crews were split into high and low SRO-experience groups on the basis of the years of experience of the SROs as SROs. One half (4 of the 8 crews in each group) of the high- and low-SRO experience groups were assisted by an STA or an SRO acting as an STA. The crews responded to four simulated plant casualties which ranged in severity from an uncomplicated turbine trip to an anticipated transient without scram (ATWS). No significant differences in overall performance were found between groups led by high (25 to 114 months licensed as an SRO) and low (1 to 17 months as an SRO) experience SROs. However, crews led by low experience SROs tended to have shorter task performance times than crews led by high experience SROs. Although a tendency for the STA-assisted groups to score higher on four of the five measures was observed, the presence of the STA had no statistically significant effect on overall team performance. The correlation between individual performance, as measured by four of the task performance measures, and experience, measured by months as a licensed operator, was not statistically significant, nor was the correlation between task performance and recency of simulator training. 18 references, 5 figures, 13 tables

  10. Matrix product operators, matrix product states, and ab initio density matrix renormalization group algorithms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Garnet Kin-Lic; Keselman, Anna; Nakatani, Naoki; Li, Zhendong; White, Steven R.

    2016-07-01

    Current descriptions of the ab initio density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithm use two superficially different languages: an older language of the renormalization group and renormalized operators, and a more recent language of matrix product states and matrix product operators. The same algorithm can appear dramatically different when written in the two different vocabularies. In this work, we carefully describe the translation between the two languages in several contexts. First, we describe how to efficiently implement the ab initio DMRG sweep using a matrix product operator based code, and the equivalence to the original renormalized operator implementation. Next we describe how to implement the general matrix product operator/matrix product state algebra within a pure renormalized operator-based DMRG code. Finally, we discuss two improvements of the ab initio DMRG sweep algorithm motivated by matrix product operator language: Hamiltonian compression, and a sum over operators representation that allows for perfect computational parallelism. The connections and correspondences described here serve to link the future developments with the past and are important in the efficient implementation of continuing advances in ab initio DMRG and related algorithms.

  11. The effects of alignments: examining group faultlines, organizational cultures, and performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bezrukova, Katerina; Thatcher, Sherry M B; Jehn, Karen A; Spell, Chester S

    2012-01-01

    By integrating literature on group faultlines, organizational cultures, and value congruence, this research presents a framework that explains how cultural alignment across organizational levels may influence the relationship between faultlines and performance. The hypotheses were tested using representatively sampled multisource qualitative and quantitative data on 138 teams from a Fortune 500 company. The present findings demonstrate that although informational faultlines were detrimental for group performance, the negative relationship between faultlines and performance was reversed when cultures with a strong emphasis on results were aligned, was lessened when cultures with a weak emphasis on results were aligned, and remained negative when cultures were misaligned with respect to their results orientation. These findings show the importance of recognizing alignments not only within groups (group faultlines) but also outside groups (cultural alignments between the group and departments) when considering their implications for group performance.

  12. Encounter Group Effects of Soccer Team Performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magen, Zipora

    1980-01-01

    Suggests that a positive relationship exists between encounter group experience and the soccer team performance--a conclusion worthy of consideration in further research in the fields of psychology and sociology of sports. (Author)

  13. How Improve Operational Research Learning? A Performance Analysis of Business Administration and Accounting Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cesar Duarte Souto-Maior

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses factors that can affect Business Administration and Accounting students’ performance in Operational Research course. To accomplish this, were analyzed de final grade of 556 undergraduate students. The hypotheses of research were analyzed using two-tailed t test. The result confirms most of the hypotheses, however two of them were not significant. The results show that female students perform better than male students; better classified students on application process have higher scores, as well as students who do the course in the morning and students who have more colleagues from the original group. We also found a negative correlation between absence and final grade. However, the major (Business Administration or Accounting and the class size were not significant. The correlation between independent variables show that female students present less absence than male. Also the absences are related with bigger classes and less colleagues form original group. Having more colleagues of the original group can encourage the student to go to class. These findings could be important for teachers and educational institutions during development of new strategies and learning methods, as well as for students planning new forms to improve their own performance. Moreover, these results also contribute to the discussion of important issues, providing background and arguments for further research.

  14. Operating Experience Report: Counterfeit, Suspect and Fraudulent Items. Working Group on Operating Experience. Proceedings and Analysis on an Item of Generic Interest

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    The NEA Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) believes that sharing operating experience from the national operating experience feedback programmes are a major element in the industry's and regulatory body's efforts to ensure the continued safe operation of nuclear facilities. Considering the importance of these issues, the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) established a working group, PWG no.1 (Principle Working Group Number 1) to assess operating experience in the late 1970's, which was later renamed the Working Group on Operating Experience (WGOE). In 1978, the CSNI approved the establishment of a system to collect international operating experience data. The accident at Three Mile Island shortly after added impetus to this and led to the start of the Incident Reporting System (IRS). In 1983, the IRS database was moved to the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA) to be operated as a joint database by IAEA and NEA for the benefit of all of the member countries of both organisations. In 2006, the WGOE was moved to be under the umbrella of the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) in NEA. In 2009, the scope of the Incident Reporting System was expanded and re-named the International Reporting System for Operating Experience (although, the acronym remains the same). The purpose of WGOE is to facilitate the exchange of information, experience, and lessons learnt related to operating experience between member countries. The working group continues its mission to identify trending and issues that should be addressed in specialty areas of CNRA and CSNI working groups. The CSFI (Counterfeit, Suspect, and Fraudulent Items) issue was determined to be the Issue of Generic Interest at the April 2010 WGOE meeting. The Issue of Generic Interest is determined by the working group members for an in-depth discussion. They are often emerging issues in operating experience that a country or several countries would to the share

  15. Coherent State Projection Operator Representation of Symplectic Transformations as a Loyal Representation of Symplectic Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Hong-Yi; Chen, Jun-Hua

    2002-08-01

    We find that the coherent state projection operator representation of symplectic transformation constitutes a loyal group representation of symplectic group. The result of successively applying squeezing operators on number state can be easily derived. The project supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 10575057 and the President Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

  16. Operating performance of the prototype heavy water reactor Fugen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    Since the full scale operation was started in March, 1979, the ATR Fugen power station has been verifying the performance and reliability of the machinery and equipment, uranium-plutonium mixed oxide fuel and so on, and obtaining the technical prospect for putting ATRs in practical use by accumulating operation and maintenance techniques, through about five years of operation. In this report, the operational results of the Fugen power station are described. Fugen is a heavy water-moderated, boiling light water-cooled, pressure tube type reactor with 165 MWe output. As of the end of March, 1984, the total generated electric power was about 4.3 billion kWh, and the operation time was about 27,000 hours. The mean capacity ratio reached 58.8%. During the operation period, troubles including plant shutdown occurred eight times, but generally the performance and reliability of the machinery and equipment have been good. 580 fuels including 284 MOX fuels have been charged, but fuel breaking did not occur at all. The consumption of heavy water and the leak of tritium did not cause problem. The management of the core and fuel, the management of maintenance, the quality control of cooling water and heavy water, radiation control and the management of wastes are reported. (Kako, I.)

  17. Relationship Between Lean Production and Operational Performance in the Manufacturing Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasi, Raja Zuraidah R. M.; Syamsyul Rakiman, Umol; Ahmad, Md Fauzi Bin

    2015-05-01

    Nowadays, more and more manufacturing firms have started to implement lean production system in their operations. Lean production viewed as one of the mechanism to maintain the organisation's position and to compete globally. However, many fail to apply the lean concepts successfully in their operations. Based on previous studies, implementation of lean production in the manufacturing industry is more focused on the relationship between Lean and Operational Performance of one dimension only. Therefore, this study attempted to examine the relationship between Lean Production (LP) and Operational Performance in 4 dimensions which are quality, delivery, cost and flexibility. This study employed quantitative study using questionnaires. Data was collected from 50 manufacturing industries. The data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 22.0. This study is hoped to shed new understanding on the concept of Lean Production (LP) in regards of Operational Performance covering the 4 dimensions.

  18. Energy and Exergy Performance of three FPSO Operational Modes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sánchez, Yamid Alberto Carranza; Junior, Silvio de Oliveira; da Silva, Julio Augusto Mendes

    2015-01-01

    by the FPSO operator. Energy and exergy criteria have been applied to evaluate and compare the performance of components and systems of the three operational modes of the FPSO. The processing and utilities plants have been modeled and simulated by using Aspen HYSYS®. Results indicate that higher oil content...

  19. Performance and operation experience of the Atlas Semiconductor Tracker

    CERN Document Server

    Liang, Zhijun

    2014-01-01

    We report on the operation and performance of the ATLAS Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT), which has been functioning for 3 years in the high luminosity, high radiation environment of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Well also report on the few im- provements of the SCT foreseen for the high energy run of the LHC. We find 99.3% of the SCT modules are operational, the noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specifications; the alignment is very close to the ideal to allow on-line track reconstruc- tion and invariant mass determination. We will report on the operation and performance of the detector including an overview of the issues encountered. We observe a significant increase in leakage currents from bulk damage due to non-ionizing radiation and make comparisons with the predictions.

  20. The Method of Optimization of Hydropower Plant Performance for Use in Group Active Power Controller

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glazyrin G.V.

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The problem of optimization of hydropower plant performance is considered in this paper. A new method of calculation of optimal load-sharing is proposed. The method is based on application of incremental water flow curves representing relationship between the per unit increase of water flow and active power. The optimal load-sharing is obtained by solving the nonlinear equation governing the balance of total active power and the station power set point with the same specific increase of water flow for all turbines. Unlike traditional optimization techniques, the solution of the equation is obtained without taking into account unit safe operating zones. Instead, if calculated active power of a unit violates the permissible power range, load-sharing is recalculated for the remaining generating units. Thus, optimal load-sharing algorithm suitable for digital control systems is developed. The proposed algorithm is implemented in group active power controller in Novosibirsk hydropower plant. An analysis of operation of group active power controller proves that the application of the proposed method allows obtaining optimal load-sharing at each control step with sufficient precision.

  1. Operator Performance Comparison of two VDT-based Alarm Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Hyun-Chul; Oh, In-Suk; Sim, Bong-Shick; Koo, In-Soo; Kim, Jeong-Taek; Lee, Ki-Young; Park, Jong-Kyun

    1998-01-01

    This study is carried out to investigate performance differences between two alarm presentation methods from the viewpoint of human factors and to provide items to be improved. One of the alarm display methods considered in this study displays alarm lists on VDT combined with hardwired alarm panels. The other method displays alarms on plant mimic diagrams of VDT. This alarm display method has other features for operator aid with which operator can get detailed information on the activated alarm in the mimic diagrams, and the capability for alarm processing such as alarm reduction and prioritization. To compare the two display methods, a human factor experiment was performed with a plant simulator in the ITF (Integrated Test Facility) that plant operators run for 4 event scenarios. During the experiment, physiological measurements, system and operator action log, and audio/video recordings were collected. Operators subjective opinion was collected as well after the experiment. Time, error rate and situation awareness were major human factor criteria used for the comparison during the analysis stage of the experiment. No statistical significance was found in the results of our statistical comparison analysis. Several findings were identified, however, through the analysis of subjective opinions. (authors)

  2. Carlson iterating rational approximation and performance analysis of fractional operator with arbitrary order

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He Qiu-Yan; Yuan Xiao; Yu Bo

    2017-01-01

    The performance analysis of the generalized Carlson iterating process, which can realize the rational approximation of fractional operator with arbitrary order, is presented in this paper. The reasons why the generalized Carlson iterating function possesses more excellent properties such as self-similarity and exponential symmetry are also explained. K-index, P-index, O-index, and complexity index are introduced to contribute to performance analysis. Considering nine different operational orders and choosing an appropriate rational initial impedance for a certain operational order, these rational approximation impedance functions calculated by the iterating function meet computational rationality, positive reality, and operational validity. Then they are capable of having the operational performance of fractional operators and being physical realization. The approximation performance of the impedance function to the ideal fractional operator and the circuit network complexity are also exhibited. (paper)

  3. COMMUNICATIONS GROUP

    CERN Multimedia

    L. Taylor

    2011-01-01

    The CMS Communications Group, established at the start of 2010, has been busy in all three areas of its responsibility: (1) Communications Infrastructure, (2) Information Systems, and (3) Outreach and Education. Communications Infrastructure There are now 55 CMS Centres worldwide that are well used by physicists working on remote CMS shifts, Computing operations, data quality monitoring, data analysis and outreach. The CMS Centre@CERN in Meyrin, is the centre of the CMS offline and computing operations, hosting dedicated analysis efforts such as during the CMS Heavy Ion lead-lead running. With a majority of CMS sub-detectors now operating in a “shifterless” mode, many monitoring operations are now routinely performed from there, rather than in the main Control Room at P5. The CMS Communications Group, CERN IT and the EVO team are providing excellent videoconferencing support for the rapidly-increasing number of CMS meetings. In parallel, CERN IT and ...

  4. An analysis of HANARO operating performance of the year 2001

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoon, D. B.; Choi, H. Y.; Lim, I. C.; Hwang, S. Y.

    2002-01-01

    For the evaluation of operating performance of the HANARO, operation data of the year 2001 were analyzed. Power output, delay times for full-power arrival and shutdown were considered as the representative measures of operating performance. The analysis results show that the total thermal power output is 3770MWD, which is the best record since the startup of the HANARO. The mean values of the delay time for full-power arrival and shutdown are calculated as 3.56 hours and 2.49 hours, respectively. The major causes for the delay of full-power arrival and shutdown are found to be the retardation of the fuel inspection, and unscheduled work for maintenance and experiment. In order to enhance the operating performance, based on the analysis results, biweekly-prearranged plan for working and experiment will be prepared in advance. The starting time of the reactor has been moved up by 1 hour for reaching the full power before the scheduled time. In addition, we will make effort so as to reduce the number of fuels that have to be inspected

  5. Induced simplified neutrosophic correlated aggregation operators for multi-criteria group decision-making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Şahin, Rıdvan; Zhang, Hong-yu

    2018-03-01

    Induced Choquet integral is a powerful tool to deal with imprecise or uncertain nature. This study proposes a combination process of the induced Choquet integral and neutrosophic information. We first give the operational properties of simplified neutrosophic numbers (SNNs). Then, we develop some new information aggregation operators, including an induced simplified neutrosophic correlated averaging (I-SNCA) operator and an induced simplified neutrosophic correlated geometric (I-SNCG) operator. These operators not only consider the importance of elements or their ordered positions, but also take into account the interactions phenomena among decision criteria or their ordered positions under multiple decision-makers. Moreover, we present a detailed analysis of I-SNCA and I-SNCG operators, including the properties of idempotency, commutativity and monotonicity, and study the relationships among the proposed operators and existing simplified neutrosophic aggregation operators. In order to handle the multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) situations where the weights of criteria and decision-makers usually correlative and the criterion values are considered as SNNs, an approach is established based on I-SNCA operator. Finally, a numerical example is presented to demonstrate the proposed approach and to verify its effectiveness and practicality.

  6. ATLAS Silicon Microstrip Tracker Operation and Performance

    CERN Document Server

    Barone, G; The ATLAS collaboration

    2013-01-01

    The Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) is a silicon strip detector and one of the key precision tracking devices in the Inner Detector of the ATLAS experiment at CERN LHC. The SCT is constructed of 4088 silicon detector modules for a total of 6.3 million strips. Each module is designed, constructed and tested to operate as a stand-alone unit, mechanically, electrically, optically and thermally. The modules are mounted into two types of structures: one barrel (4 cylinders) and two end-cap systems (9 disks on each end of the barrel). In the talk the current results from the successful operation of the SCT Detector at the LHC and its status after three years of operation will be presented. We will report on the operation of the detector including an overview of the issues we encountered and the observation of significant increases in leakage currents (as expected) from bulk damage due to non-ionising radiation. The main emphasis will be given to the tracking performance of the SCT and the data quality during the >2 ye...

  7. The ATLAS Semiconductor tracker: operations and performance

    CERN Document Server

    Pani, P; The ATLAS collaboration

    2013-01-01

    Tracker After more than 3 years of successful operation at the LHC, we report on the operation and performance of the Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) functioning in a high luminosity, high radiation environment. The SCT is part of the ATLAS experiment at CERN and is constructed of 4088 silicon detector modules for a total of 6.3 million strips. Each module is designed, constructed and tested to operate as a stand-alone unit, mechanically, electrically, optically and thermally. The modules are mounted into two types of structures: one barrel (4 cylinders) and two end-cap systems (9 disks on each end of the barrel). The SCT silicon micro-strip sensors are processed in the planar p-in-n technology. The signals are processed in the front-end ABCD3TA ASICs, which use a binary readout architecture. Data is transferred to the off-detector readout electronics via optical fibers. We find 99.3% of the SCT modules are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specifications; the alignment is very cl...

  8. COMMISSIONING AND DETECTOR PERFORMANCE GROUPS (DPG)

    CERN Multimedia

    L. Malgeri

    2011-01-01

    As the technical interventions were finishing up and services restored at P5 we started central operations again in 2011. We started operations with a reduced shift crew, Shift leader and DCS shifter, on 24th January. We had a first mid-week global run on 2nd and 3rd February followed by cosmic data-taking between 10th and 20th February. Due to delays with cooling for the strip tracker the useful cosmic data-taking with the strip tracker was reduced to about four days. On 20th February, the LHC started beam commissioning, and cosmic data-taking with the full CMS detector was stopped. The machine availability has been much higher during the 2011 beam commissioning than during the comparable time period in 2010. This has given us few opportunities to turn on the tracker for further cosmic data-taking. Many changes and upgrades were performed during the winter shutdown. Among them was an upgrade to running the central DAQ on 64 bit. All of these upgrades have now b...

  9. Left atrial isolation associated with mitral valve operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graffigna, A; Pagani, F; Minzioni, G; Salerno, J; Viganò, M

    1992-12-01

    Surgical isolation of the left atrium was performed for the treatment of chronic atrial fibrillation secondary to valvular disease in 100 patients who underwent mitral valve operations. From May 1989 to September 1991, 62 patients underwent mitral valve operations (group I); 19, mitral valve operations and DeVega tricuspid annuloplasty (group II); 15, mitral and aortic operations (group III); and 4, mitral and aortic operations and DeVega tricuspid annuloplasty (group IV). Left atrial isolation was performed, prolonging the usual left paraseptal atriotomy toward the left fibrous trigone anteriorly and the posteromedial commissure posteriorly. The incision was conducted a few millimeters apart from the mitral valve annulus, and cryolesions were placed at the edges to ensure complete electrophysiological isolation of the left atrium. Operative mortality accounted for 3 patients (3%). In 79 patients (81.4%) sinus rhythm recovered and persisted until discharge from the hospital. No differences were found between the groups (group I, 80.7%; group II, 68.5%; group III, 86.7%; group IV, 75%; p = not significant). Three late deaths (3.1%) were registered. Long-term results show persistence of sinus rhythm in 71% of group I, 61.2% of group II, 85.8% of group III, and 100% of group IV. The unique risk factor for late recurrence of atrial fibrillation was found to be preoperative atrial fibrillation longer than 6 months. Due to the satisfactory success rate in recovering sinus rhythm, we suggest performing left atrial isolation in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation undergoing valvular operations.

  10. High Performance Computing Operations Review Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cupps, Kimberly C. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2013-12-19

    The High Performance Computing Operations Review (HPCOR) meeting—requested by the ASC and ASCR program headquarters at DOE—was held November 5 and 6, 2013, at the Marriott Hotel in San Francisco, CA. The purpose of the review was to discuss the processes and practices for HPC integration and its related software and facilities. Experiences and lessons learned from the most recent systems deployed were covered in order to benefit the deployment of new systems.

  11. 29 CFR 784.151 - Operations performed after product is rendered nonperishable.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... is performed as an integrated part of the operations named in the exemption which are performed by an... employment of his employees in the storing, marketing, packing for shipment, or distributing of nonperishable... weeks or seasons) will be considered to be an integrated part of his operations on the perishable...

  12. Principal working group No. 1 on operating experience and human factors (PWG1). Report of the task group on reviewing the activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-02-01

    annual meetings of the working group. In addition there has been a large number of workshops, specialists' meetings, and other meetings focused on particular topics. Many reports of a special nature have been published. In 1999 the CSNI has directed some changes in its existing working groups and this has prompted the reexamination of the processes by which PWG-1 discharges its functions. This re-examination is a consequence of the adoption of a Strategic Plan by the Nuclear Energy Agency and some conforming strategic plans by the CSNI and CNRA. In response to CSNI direction, PWG1 formed a Task Group to consider the directions contained in these strategic plans and propose the necessary changes in the working group mandate. As a point of departure the Task Group reviewed the accomplishments of PWG1 since 1994. It was thought that this review might help guide any changes to the group mandate. It was observed that for the most part PWG1 had been discharging its mandate in a careful and efficient manner. The formal guidance from CSNI with respect to review and modification of the PWG1 mandate is contained in the Strategic Plan of the CSNI. One significant aspect of the Strategic Plan was to reassign the Human Factors aspects of PWG1, as embodied in the Extended Task Force (ETF), to a Special Expert Group which will report directly to CSNI. Further, the CSNI decided to embed the Fuel Cycle Task Group within WGOE. Some structural changes characteristic of strategic planning, including prioritization duties, adoption of success criteria (or performance measures), consideration of customer needs, and consideration of the need to review operating experience for possible future research projects were part of the work of the Task Group. This report provides an analysis of recent progress of PWG1, and also proposes changes to the group mandate, in response to the strategic plans of NEA and CSNI. The mandate is quite brief and lists some broad areas of work

  13. Real-Time Assessment and Diagnosis of Process Operating Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shabnam Sedghi

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Over time, the performance of processes may deviate from the initial design due to process variations and uncertainties, making it necessary to develop systematic methods for online optimality assessment based on routine operating process data. Some processes have multiple operating modes caused by the set point change of the critical process variables to achieve different product specifications. On the other hand, the operating region in each operating mode can alter, due to uncertainties. In this paper, we will establish an optimality assessment framework for processes that typically have multi-mode, multi-region operations, as well as transitions between different modes. The kernel density approach for mode detection is adopted and improved for operating mode detection. For online mode detection, the model-based clustering discriminant analysis (MclustDA approach is incorporated with some a priori knowledge of the system. In addition, multi-modal behavior of steady-state modes is tackled utilizing the mixture probabilistic principal component regression (MPPCR method, and dynamic principal component regression (DPCR is used to investigate transitions between different modes. Moreover, a probabilistic causality detection method based on the sequential forward floating search (SFFS method is introduced for diagnosing poor or non-optimum behavior. Finally, the proposed method is tested on the Tennessee Eastman (TE benchmark simulation process in order to evaluate its performance.

  14. Reducing power consumption while performing collective operations on a plurality of compute nodes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archer, Charles J [Rochester, MN; Blocksome, Michael A [Rochester, MN; Peters, Amanda E [Rochester, MN; Ratterman, Joseph D [Rochester, MN; Smith, Brian E [Rochester, MN

    2011-10-18

    Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for reducing power consumption while performing collective operations on a plurality of compute nodes that include: receiving, by each compute node, instructions to perform a type of collective operation; selecting, by each compute node from a plurality of collective operations for the collective operation type, a particular collective operation in dependence upon power consumption characteristics for each of the plurality of collective operations; and executing, by each compute node, the selected collective operation.

  15. Assessment of resident operative performance using a real-time mobile Web system: preparing for the milestone age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Justin P; Chen, David C; Donahue, Timothy R; Quach, Chi; Hines, O Joe; Hiatt, Jonathan R; Tillou, Areti

    2014-01-01

    To satisfy trainees' operative competency requirements while improving feedback validity and timeliness using a mobile Web-based platform. The Southern Illinois University Operative Performance Rating Scale (OPRS) was embedded into a website formatted for mobile devices. From March 2013 to February 2014, faculty members were instructed to complete the OPRS form while providing verbal feedback to the operating resident at the conclusion of each procedure. Submitted data were compiled automatically within a secure Web-based spreadsheet. Conventional end-of-rotation performance (CERP) evaluations filed 2006 to 2013 and OPRS performance scores were compared by year of training using serial and independent-samples t tests. The mean CERP scores and OPRS overall resident operative performance scores were directly compared using a linear regression model. OPRS mobile site analytics were reviewed using a Web-based reporting program. Large university-based general surgery residency program. General Surgery faculty used the mobile Web OPRS system to rate resident performance. Residents and the program director reviewed evaluations semiannually. Over the study period, 18 faculty members and 37 residents logged 176 operations using the mobile OPRS system. There were 334 total OPRS website visits. Median time to complete an evaluation was 45 minutes from the end of the operation, and faculty spent an average of 134 seconds on the site to enter 1 assessment. In the 38,506 CERP evaluations reviewed, mean performance scores showed a positive linear trend of 2% change per year of training (p = 0.001). OPRS overall resident operative performance scores showed a significant linear (p = 0.001), quadratic (p = 0.001), and cubic (p = 0.003) trend of change per year of clinical training, reflecting the resident operative experience in our training program. Differences between postgraduate year-1 and postgraduate year-5 overall performance scores were greater with the OPRS (mean = 0.96, CI

  16. How milk-fed dairy calves perform in stable versus dynamic groups

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Rikke Engelbrecht; Sørensen, Jan Tind; Skjøth, F

    2009-01-01

    The objective of the present field trial was to compare calf performance among pre-weaned calves in two different group housing systems, stable groups ("all in-all out") and dynamic groups (continuous introduction). Performance data was collected from 484 calves randomly assigned to the two syste....../days). The prevalence of both diarrhoea and respiratory disease were more than twice as high among calves in dynamic groups compared to calves in stable groups....

  17. Global solvability of the differential operators non-invariants on semi-simple Lie groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Hussein, K.

    1991-09-01

    Let G be a connected semi-simple Lie group with finite centre and let G=KAN be the Iwasawa decomposition of G. Let P be a differential operator on G, which is right invariant by the sub-group AN and left invariant by the sub-group K. In this paper, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the global solvability of P on G. (author). 5 refs

  18. Operational Performance of Offshore De-oiling Hydrocyclone Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Løhndorf, Petar Durdevic; Pedersen, Simon; Yang, Zhenyu

    2017-01-01

    Maturing Oil & Gas reservoirs in the North Sea result in constant increases of water-cut, which correspondingly poses an increasing strain on the current offshore Produced Water Treatment (PWT) facilities. As one of the key elements of the PWT facilities, the hydrocyclone systems, are responsible...... for removing the remaining hydrocarbon content in the produced water before the treated water can be discharged, disposed, or reused as injection water. The hydrocyclone's performance heavily correlates with a number of system's and operational parameters, as well as dedicated control strategies. However......, these correlations haven't yet been clearly explored from a control oriented point of view, due to the complex separation dynamics inside the cyclone systems. This work investigates and evaluates the hydrocyclone system's operational performance with respect to the most commonly used control paradigm, Pressure Drop...

  19. Team Satisfaction and Student Group Performance: A Cross-Cultural Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeitun, Rami M.; Abdulqader, Khalid Shams; Alshare, Khaled A.

    2013-01-01

    The authors examined the relationship between team satisfaction and students' performance in group projects in two universities, one from the United States and one from Qatar. The results showed that there is a significant positive correlation between team satisfaction and group performance only for the American students. Demographic factors such…

  20. Aggregation operators of neutrosophic linguistic numbers for multiple attribute group decision making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Jun

    2016-01-01

    Based on the concept of neutrosophic linguistic numbers (NLNs) in symbolic neutrosophic theory presented by Smarandache in 2015, the paper firstly proposes basic operational laws of NLNs and the expected value of a NLN to rank NLNs. Then, we propose the NLN weighted arithmetic average (NLNWAA) and NLN weighted geometric average (NLNWGA) operators and discuss their properties. Further, we establish a multiple attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) method by using the NLNWAA and NLNWGA operators under NLN environment. Finally, an illustrative example on a decision-making problem of manufacturing alternatives in the flexible manufacturing system is given to show the application of the proposed MAGDM method.

  1. A comparison between the four Geldart groups on the performance of a gas-phase annular fluidized bed photoreactor for volatile organic compound oxidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diniz, Leonardo Almeida; Hewer, Thiago Lewis Reis; Matsumoto, Danielle; Teixeira, Antonio Carlos Silva Costa

    2018-05-07

    Heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) is a widely studied alternative for the elimination of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in air. In this context, research on novel photoreactor arrangements to enhance PCO rates is desired. Annular fluidized bed photoreactors (AFBPR) have yielded prominent results when compared to conventional thin film reactors. However, very few works aimed at optimizing AFBPR operation. In this study, TiO 2 photocalytic agglomerates were synthesized and segregated in specific size distributions to behave as Geldart groups A, B, C, and D fluidization. The TiO 2 agglomerates were characterized by XRD, FTIR spectra, and N 2 adsorption. Photocatalyst performances were compared in a 10-mm gapped AFBPR for degrading the model pollutant methyl-ethyl-ketone (MEK), using a 254-nm radiation source. Geldart group C showed to be inadequate for AFBPR operation due to the short operation range between fluidization and elutriation. In all the cases, photocatalytic reaction rates were superior to sole UV photolysis. Group A and group B demonstrated the highest reaction rates. Considerations based on mass transfer suggested that the reasons were enhanced UV distribution within the bed at lower flow rates and superior catalyst surface area at higher flow rates. Results also revealed that groups A, B, and D perform equally per catalyst area within an AFBPR if the fluidization numbers (FN) are high enough.

  2. Reduction Mammoplasty: A Comparison Between Operations Performed by Plastic Surgery and General Surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kordahi, Anthony M; Hoppe, Ian C; Lee, Edward S

    2015-01-01

    Reduction mammoplasty is an often-performed procedure by plastic surgeons and increasingly by general surgeons. The question has been posed in both general surgical literature and plastic surgical literature as to whether this procedure should remain the domain of surgical specialists. Some general surgeons are trained in breast reductions, whereas all plastic surgeons receive training in this procedure. The National Surgical Quality Improvement Project provides a unique opportunity to compare the 2 surgical specialties in an unbiased manner in terms of preoperative comorbidities and 30-day postoperative complications. The National Surgical Quality Improvement Project database was queried for the years 2005-2012. Patients were identified as having undergone a reduction mammoplasty by Current Procedural Terminology codes. RESULTS were refined to include only females with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, code of 611.1 (hypertrophy of breasts). Information was collected regarding age, surgical specialty performing procedure, body mass index, and other preoperative variables. The outcomes utilized were presence of superficial surgical site infection, presence of deep surgical site infection, presence of wound dehiscence, postoperative respiratory compromise, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, perioperative transfusion, operative time, reintubation, reoperation, and length of hospital stay. During this time period, there were 6239 reduction mammaplasties performed within the National Surgical Quality Improvement Project database: 339 by general surgery and 5900 by plastic surgery. No statistical differences were detected between the 2 groups with regard to superficial wound infections, deep wound infections, organ space infections, or wound dehiscence. There were no significant differences noted between within groups with regard to systemic postoperative complications. Patients undergoing a procedure by general surgery were more likely

  3. 30 CFR 250.135 - What will MMS do if my operating performance is unacceptable?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What will MMS do if my operating performance is....135 What will MMS do if my operating performance is unacceptable? If your operating performance is unacceptable, MMS may disapprove or revoke your designation as operator on a single facility or multiple...

  4. Operational performance at the German Pre-Konvoi Philippsburg-2 NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Streit, K.; Ruehle, W.; Enkler, G.

    1998-01-01

    Philippsburg 2 is one of the first German Pre-Konvoi PWRs starting commercial operation in 1985. From a chemistry point of view three major modifications have been implemented focusing on radiation source reduction, improving steam generator corrosion performance and changing from high hydrazine to low hydrazine chemistry in the component cooling water systems. From an environmental protection perspective, all component cooling water systems were changed from the high hydrazine inhibitor treatment (300-400 ppm N 2 H 4 ) to an oxygen-free treatment, using only small amount of hydrazine of 3 to 5 ppm of N 2 H 4 for oxygen scavenging. During the 13 years of operation, the overall plant performance and availability is excellent; more than 140 million MW hrs of electricity have been generated at an average plant availability of more than 88%. After about 13 years of power operation, it can be concluded, that all modifications applied at the Philippsburg 2 NPP during the design phase resulted in considerable plant performance. Primary side dose rate build-up is experienced on very low levels, leading to extremely low annual personnel radiation exposures, which usually range in the area of 0.2 man Sievert per year. Also steam generator operational and corrosion performance is excellent; at present, no tubes had to be plugged by any reason and no indications for any tubing degradation process has been observed during the ECT tube integrity inspections. Component cooling water systems are operated on low iron and copper concentration indicating the absence of any structural material degradation phenomenon. (J.P.N.)

  5. Mixed-mode Operating System for Real-time Performance

    OpenAIRE

    M.M. Hasan; S. Sultana; C.K. Foo

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of the mixed-mode system research is to handle devices with the accuracy of real-time systems and at the same time, having all the benefits and facilities of a matured Graphic User Interface (GUI) operating system which is typically nonreal-time. This mixed-mode operating system comprising of a real-time portion and a non-real-time portion was studied and implemented to identify the feasibilities and performances in practical applications (in the context of scheduled the real-time...

  6. Mixed - mode Operating System for Real - time Performance

    OpenAIRE

    Hasan M. M.; Sultana S.; Foo C.K.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of the mixed-mode system research is to handle devices with the accuracy of real-time systems and at the same time, having all the benefits and facilities of a matured Graphic User Interface(GUI)operating system which is typicallynon-real-time. This mixed-mode operating system comprising of a real-time portion and a non-real-time portion was studied and implemented to identify the feasibilities and performances in practical applications (in the context of scheduled the real-time e...

  7. ATLAS SemiConductor Tracker Operation and Performance

    CERN Document Server

    Tojo, J; The ATLAS collaboration

    2011-01-01

    The SemiConductor Tracker (SCT), comprising of silicon micro-strip detectors is one of the key precision tracking devices in the ATLAS Inner Detector. ATLAS is one of the experiments at CERN LHC. The completed SCT is in very good shapes with 99.3% of the SCT’s 4088 modules (a total of 6.3 million strips) are operational. The noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specifications. In the talk the current status of the SCT will be reviewed. We will report on the operation of the detector, its performance and observed problems, with stress on the sensor and electronics performance. In December 2009 the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) recorded the first proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 900 GeV and this was followed by the unprecedented energy of 7 TeV in March 2010. The Semi- Conductor Tracker (SCT) is the key precision tracking device in ATLAS, made from silicon micro-strip detectors processed in the planar p-in-n technology. The signals from the stri...

  8. ATLAS Silicon Microstrip Tracker Operation and Performance

    CERN Document Server

    Yamada, M; The ATLAS collaboration

    2011-01-01

    The SemiConductor Tracker (SCT), comprising of silicon micro-strip detectors is one of the key precision tracking devices in the ATLAS Inner Detector. ATLAS is one of the experiments at CERN LHC. The completed SCT is in very good shapes with 99.3% of the SCT’s 4088 modules (a total of 6.3 million strips) are operational. The noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specifications. In the talk the current status of the SCT will be reviewed. We will report on the operation of the detector, its performance and observed problems, with stress on the sensor and electronics performance. In December 2009 the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) recorded the first proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 900 GeV and this was followed by the unprecedented energy of 7 TeV in March 2010. The Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) is the key precision tracking device in ATLAS, made from silicon micro-strip detectors processed in the planar p-in-n technology. The signals from the strip...

  9. An empirical assessment of high-performing medical groups: results from a national study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shortell, Stephen M; Schmittdiel, Julie; Wang, Margaret C; Li, Rui; Gillies, Robin R; Casalino, Lawrence P; Bodenheimer, Thomas; Rundall, Thomas G

    2005-08-01

    The performance of medical groups is receiving increased attention. Relatively little conceptual or empirical work exists that examines the various dimensions of medical group performance. Using a national database of 693 medical groups, this article develops a scorecard approach to assessing group performance and presents a theory-driven framework for differentiating between high-performing versus low-performing medical groups. The clinical quality of care, financial performance, and organizational learning capability of medical groups are assessed in relation to environmental forces, resource acquisition and resource deployment factors, and a quality-centered culture. Findings support the utility of the performance scorecard approach and identification of a number of key factors differentiating high-performing from low-performing groups including, in particular, the importance of a quality-centered culture and the requirement of outside reporting from third party organizations. The findings hold a number of important implications for policy and practice, and the framework presented provides a foundation for future research.

  10. Mixed-mode Operating System for Real-time Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.M. Hasan

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the mixed-mode system research is to handle devices with the accuracy of real-time systems and at the same time, having all the benefits and facilities of a matured Graphic User Interface (GUI operating system which is typically nonreal-time. This mixed-mode operating system comprising of a real-time portion and a non-real-time portion was studied and implemented to identify the feasibilities and performances in practical applications (in the context of scheduled the real-time events. In this research an i8751 microcontroller-based hardware was used to measure the performance of the system in real-time-only as well as non-real-time-only configurations. The real-time portion is an 486DX-40 IBM PC system running under DOS-based realtime kernel and the non-real-time portion is a Pentium III based system running under Windows NT. It was found that mixed-mode systems performed as good as a typical realtime system and in fact, gave many additional benefits such as simplified/modular programming and load tolerance.

  11. Safety parameter display systems' effect on operator performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cerven, F.; Ford, R.E.; Blackman, H.S.

    1983-01-01

    Computer generated displays are a powerful and flexible tool for presenting data to the operators of nuclear power plants. Such displays are currently being developed in industry for use as safety parameter displays and for use in advanced control rooms. There exists a need for methods to objectively evaluate the effect of these displays, positive or negative, on the performance of control room personnel. Results of developing one such method, noninteractive simulation, and the two experiments that were performed to determine if it can be used as a method for evaluating computer displays are presented. This method is more objective and powerful than pencil and paper methods because it measures human performance rather than opinion or perference, has excellent control of the experimental variables, and has a higher fidelity to the control room environment. The results of these experiments indicates that the present methodology does not differentiate among the display types tested at a statistically significant level. In other words, all display types tested worked equally well in providing operators needed information

  12. High Performance Platinum Group Metal Free Membrane Electrode Assemblies through Control of Interfacial Processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ayers, Katherine [Proton Energy Systems, Wallingford, CT (United States); Capuano, Christopher [Proton Energy Systems, Wallingford, CT (United States); Atanassov, Plamen [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Mukerjee, Sanjeev [Northeastern Univ., Boston, MA (United States); Hickner, Michael [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)

    2017-11-29

    The quantitative goal of this project was to produce a high-performance anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEM-WE) completely free of platinum group metals (PGMs), which could operate for at least 500 hours with less than 50 microV/hour degradation, at 500 mA/cm2. To achieve this goal, work focused on the optimization of electrocatalyst conductivity, with dispersion and utilization in the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) improved through refinement of deposition techniques. Critical factors were also explored with significant work undertaken by Northeastern University to further understand catalyst-membrane-ionomer interfaces and how they differ from liquid electrolyte. Water management and optimal cell operational parameters were established through the design, fabrication, and test of a new test station at Proton specific for AEM evaluation. Additionally, AEM material stability and robustness at high potentials and gas evolution conditions were advanced at Penn State.

  13. International Working Group on Water Reactor Fuel Performance and Technology. Summary report of the 14. plenary meeting. Working material

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-12-01

    The fourteenth Plenary Meeting of the International Working Group on Water Reactor Fuel Performance and Technology (IWGFPT) was held at IAEA Headquarters, Vienna, from 21 to 23 May 1997. Twenty-seven participants, from twenty two Member States and two international organizations, attended the meeting. These presentations generally gave: The general situation of the nuclear industry in the country; Fuel fabrication; Fuel performance, high burnup fuel (including MOX) operational experience; Status and trends in fuel research programmes directed to achievement sufficient safety margins at high burnups with regard to normal and transient operational conditions. Majority of countries reported on the stable situation of the nuclear fuel industry, i.e. without significant additions/cuts in nuclear power plant and fuel fabrication plant (NPP) capacities. Refs, figs, tabs.

  14. International Working Group on Water Reactor Fuel Performance and Technology. Summary report of the 14. plenary meeting. Working material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-01-01

    The fourteenth Plenary Meeting of the International Working Group on Water Reactor Fuel Performance and Technology (IWGFPT) was held at IAEA Headquarters, Vienna, from 21 to 23 May 1997. Twenty-seven participants, from twenty two Member States and two international organizations, attended the meeting. These presentations generally gave: The general situation of the nuclear industry in the country; Fuel fabrication; Fuel performance, high burnup fuel (including MOX) operational experience; Status and trends in fuel research programmes directed to achievement sufficient safety margins at high burnups with regard to normal and transient operational conditions. Majority of countries reported on the stable situation of the nuclear fuel industry, i.e. without significant additions/cuts in nuclear power plant and fuel fabrication plant (NPP) capacities. Refs, figs, tabs

  15. The impact of laboratory quality assurance standards on laboratory operational performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E Ratseou

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available It has become a trend for companies to implement and be certified to various quality management systems so as to improve consistency, reliability, and quality of product delivery to customers. The most common quality management systems adopted are the ISO 9000 series of standards for manufacturing and services related organisations, with ISO 17025 and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP standards adopted specifically by laboratories as quality assurance initiatives. There are various reports on the impact of the ISO 9000 series on organisational performance but no studies or reports have been done on the performance of laboratory standards. Therefore this article reports on a study conducted to investigate the impact of ISO 17025 and GLP on the operational performance of both commercial and non-commercial laboratories. A qualitative research study was conducted to examine the impact standards on the aspects of health and safety, supplier selection and performance, human resources, customer satisfaction and profitability of the laboratory. The data collected suggest that there is no difference in laboratory operational performance with or without the standards. In other words it appears that the basic fundamental requirements inherent with laboratories are sufficient to perform both operationally and optimally. This leads to the view that standards are implemented as a customer requirement and not as an operational requirement.

  16. [Experience with games in operative groups as part of health education for diabetics].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres, Heloisa de Carvalho; Hortale, Virginia Alonso; Schall, Virginia

    2003-01-01

    This paper presents and discusses an educational strategy implemented in a specialized hospital clinic. The goal was to stimulate individuals to reflect on their everyday lifestyles as related to their disease, specifically diabetes mellitus. The strategy can be characterized as an educational tool from the perspective of health promotion and disease prevention and control. The experience was implemented on an interactive basis (health professionals and individual patients) with educational games in operative groups. Pedagogical techniques were used: orientation concerning diabetes mellitus, individual consultation, the operative group, and educational games (communications and learning). The techniques enabled participants to improve knowledge and exchange experiences. In addition, the health professionals gained a better understanding of the participants' experience with their illness.

  17. The Effect of Implied Performer Age and Group Membership on Evaluations of Music Performances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrington, Ann M.

    2018-01-01

    This study examined the effects of implied performer age and group membership on listeners' evaluations of music performances. Undergraduate music majors (n = 23), nonmusic majors (n = 17), and members of a New Horizons ensemble (n = 16) were presented with six 30-second excerpts of concert band performances. Excerpts were presented to all…

  18. Business group performance, context, and strategy: A meta-analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M. Carney (Michael); E.R. Gedajlovic (Eric); P.P.M.A.R. Heugens (Pursey); M. van Essen (Marc); J. van Oosterhout (Hans)

    2010-01-01

    textabstractResearch on business groups ?legally independent firms tied together in a variety of formal and informal ways ?is accelerating, but four questions still lack a definitive answer: Does business group membership enhance or diminish firm performance? Are members comparatively better off in

  19. Operational risk assessments by supply chain professionals : process and performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tazelaar, F.; Snijders, C.C.P.

    2013-01-01

    We consider the "process-performance paradox" in the assessment of operational risks by professionals in the field of operations and supply chain management (OSCM). The paradox states that although professionals with more expertise tend to decide in different ways, they often do not make better

  20. Operation Performance Evaluation of Power Grid Enterprise Using a Hybrid BWM-TOPSIS Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peipei You

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Electricity market reform is in progress in China, and the operational performance of power grid enterprises are vital for its healthy and sustainable development in the current electricity market environment. In this paper, a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM framework for operational performance evaluation of a power grid enterprise is proposed from the perspective of sustainability. The latest MCDM method, namely the best-worst method (BWM was employed to determine the weights of all criteria, and the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS was applied to rank the operation performance of a power grid enterprise. The evaluation index system was built based on the concept of sustainability, which includes three criteria (namely economy, society, and environment and seven sub-criteria. Four power grid enterprises were selected to perform the empirical analysis, and the results indicate that power grid enterprise A1 has the best operation performance. The proposed hybrid BWM-TOPSIS-based framework for operation performance evaluation of a power grid enterprise is effective and practical.

  1. Operations and Performance of RHIC as a Cu-Cu Collider

    CERN Document Server

    Pilat, Fulvia Caterina; Bai, Mei; Barton, Donald; Beebe-Wang, Joanne; Blaskiewicz, Michael; Brennan, Joseph M; Bruno, Donald; Cameron, Peter; Connolly, Roger; De Long, Joseph; Drees, Angelika; Fischer, Wolfram; Ganetis, George; Gardner, Chris J; Glenn, Joseph; Harvey, Margaret; Hayes, Thomas; Hseuh Hsiao Chaun; Huang, Haixin; Ingrassia, Peter; Iriso, Ubaldo; Lee, Roger C; Litvinenko, Vladimir N; Luo, Yun; MacKay, William W; Marr, Gregory J; Marusic, Al; Michnoff, Robert; Montag, Christoph; Morris, John; Nicoletti, Tony; Oerter, Brian; Ptitsyn, Vadim; Roser, Thomas; Russo, Thomas; Sandberg, Jon; Satogata, Todd; Schultheiss, Carl; Tepikian, Steven; Tomas, Rogelio; Trbojevic, Dejan; Tsoupas, Nicholaos; Tuozzolo, Joseph; Vetter, Kurt; Zaltsman, Alex; Zeno, Keith; Zhang, S Y; Zhang, Wu

    2005-01-01

    The 5th year of RHIC operations, started in November 2004 and expected to last till June 2005, consists of a physics run with Cu-Cu collisions at 100 GeV/u followed by one with polarized protons at 100 GeV. We will address here overall performance of the RHIC complex used for the first time as a Cu-Cu collider, and compare it with previous operational experience with Au, PP and asymmetric d-Au collisions. We will also discuss operational improvements, such as a ?* squeeze to 85cm in the high luminosity interaction regions from the design value of 1m, system improvements and machine performance limitations, such as vacuum pressure rise, intra-beam scattering, and beam beam interaction.

  2. Operational, professional, and business characteristics of radiology groups in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunshine, J H; Bansal, S

    1992-05-01

    To learn the main operational, professional, and business characteristics of U.S. radiology group practices, researchers at the American College of Radiology surveyed these groups. Major findings included the following: Approximately 30% of groups provide only diagnostic radiologic services, a similar percentage provides only radiation therapy for oncologic patients, and the remainder provides both types of services. Forty-one percent of groups practice only in hospitals, 11% practice only in an office, and 48% practice in both settings. Diagnostic-only practices average 10,000-12,000 procedures per full-time equivalent radiologist per year. Groups typically require new members to be part of the group for almost 3 years before they become full partners. Formal call schedules are nearly universal among radiology groups. Groups are becoming increasingly involved with health maintenance organizations and other "alternative delivery systems," but fee-for-service remains by far the dominant source of groups' revenue. Most studied characteristics of groups are changing relatively slowly, and trends are generally toward increasing formalization of arrangements.

  3. A Systematic Approach for Obtaining Performance on Matrix-Like Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veras, Richard Michael

    Scientific Computation provides a critical role in the scientific process because it allows us ask complex queries and test predictions that would otherwise be unfeasible to perform experimentally. Because of its power, Scientific Computing has helped drive advances in many fields ranging from Engineering and Physics to Biology and Sociology to Economics and Drug Development and even to Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Common among these domains is the desire for timely computational results, thus a considerable amount of human expert effort is spent towards obtaining performance for these scientific codes. However, this is no easy task because each of these domains present their own unique set of challenges to software developers, such as domain specific operations, structurally complex data and ever-growing datasets. Compounding these problems are the myriads of constantly changing, complex and unique hardware platforms that an expert must target. Unfortunately, an expert is typically forced to reproduce their effort across multiple problem domains and hardware platforms. In this thesis, we demonstrate the automatic generation of expert level high-performance scientific codes for Dense Linear Algebra (DLA), Structured Mesh (Stencil), Sparse Linear Algebra and Graph Analytic. In particular, this thesis seeks to address the issue of obtaining performance on many complex platforms for a certain class of matrix-like operations that span across many scientific, engineering and social fields. We do this by automating a method used for obtaining high performance in DLA and extending it to structured, sparse and scale-free domains. We argue that it is through the use of the underlying structure found in the data from these domains that enables this process. Thus, obtaining performance for most operations does not occur in isolation of the data being operated on, but instead depends significantly on the structure of the data.

  4. ATLAS Silicon Microstrip Tracker Operation and Performance

    CERN Document Server

    Rosendahl, P L; The ATLAS collaboration

    2012-01-01

    The Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) is a silicon microstrip detector part of the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Together with the rest for the ATLAS Inner Detector (ID) it provides vital precision tracking information of charged particles. In this paper the performance and operational status of the SCT in the last two years of ATLAS data taking are reviewed.

  5. Medical group affiliations: interorganizational relationships and organizational performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rotarius, Timothy; Fottler, Myron D; Blair, John D

    2003-01-01

    The hyperturbulent health care environment is causing health care organizations to create interorganizational relationships (IORs). This article reports on a study of 686 medical groups that assessed how 11 types of IORs affected 7 dimensions of organizational performance. Organizational performance was ascertained through self-reported questions about performance relative to local market competitors. Respondents believed that, to varying degrees, all IORs lead to a competitive advantage over local competitors in all seven performance categories. There was no consistent pattern for either loose or tight linkages to be associated with superior performance. Consequently, loose linkages may be preferable to tighter linkages (i.e., membership in a fully integrated delivery system) that require higher levels of resource commitment.

  6. Interactive affective sharing versus non-interactive affective sharing in work groups : Comparative effects of group affect on work group performance and dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klep, Annefloor; Wisse, Barbara; Van Der Flier, Henk

    This study explores whether the dynamic path to group affect, which is characterized by interactive affective sharing processes, yields different effects on task performance and group dynamics than the static path to group affect, which arises from non-interactive affective sharing. The results of

  7. Interactive affective sharing versus non-interactive affective sharing in work groups: Comparative effects of group affect on work group performance and dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klep, A.H.M.; Wisse, B.M.; van der Flier, H.

    2011-01-01

    This study explores whether the dynamic path to group affect, which is characterized by interactive affective sharing processes, yields different effects on task performance and group dynamics than the static path to group affect, which arises from non-interactive affective sharing. The results of

  8. An Analysis of the Effect of Operations Management Practices on Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisa Battistoni Andrea Bonacelli

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we investigate the possible relationships among some optimization techniques used in Operations Management and the performance of SMEs that operate in the manufacturing sector. A model based on the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM approach is used to analyse a dataset of small and medium-sized Italian enterprises. The model is expressed by a system of simultaneous equations and is solved through regression analysis. Taking advantage of the contributions presented previously, we focus our research on the Italian economy, highlighting the importance of Operations Management practices, which are relevant drivers of these firms’ performances.

  9. [Performance of self-help groups and their economic evaluation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engelhardt, H D; Trojan, A; Nickel, S

    2009-01-01

    Hoffmann von Fallersleben is quoted with the sentence "Self-help is worthwhile, because it does not demand anything from others". This sounds catchy; it is, however, wrong: Self-help groups ask for support, particularly for financial resources for the work of either individual, highly organized self-help associations or for general support of self-help groups via local contact and information centers ("contact points for self-help groups"). With this request for economic "investments" in self-help, the question arises whether this is profitable for the country, the local authority or the social health insurance. In principle, the initial answer to this is: yes, the work of self-help groups is worthwhile for a single person, but also for the larger community, as various kinds of services are provided by self-help groups and organizations. Despite many surveys of members or co-operation partners which show positive effects of self-help groups, the question remains whether services of self-help groups can be measured and economically evaluated. The socio- political question regarding funding is closely connected to the idea of an economic evaluation of self-help groups. The aim of this article is to summarize and discuss which empiric approaches and findings are available on this subject. The monetary value for the work done per member of self-help groups and year lies between approximately 700 and 900 EUR.

  10. Catalysis for biorefineries-performance criteria for industrial operation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lange, Jean Paul

    2016-01-01

    Past analyses of industrial processes for fuel and chemical manufacturing led to a few performance criteria that are critical for viable industrial operation. The present paper reviews these factors and provides a target window for each of them. It then illustrates their relevance for biorefineries

  11. Improving perioperative performance: the use of operations management and the electronic health record.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foglia, Robert P; Alder, Adam C; Ruiz, Gardito

    2013-01-01

    Perioperative services require the orchestration of multiple staff, space and equipment. Our aim was to identify whether the implementation of operations management and an electronic health record (EHR) improved perioperative performance. We compared 2006, pre operations management and EHR implementation, to 2010, post implementation. Operations management consisted of: communication to staff of perioperative vision and metrics, obtaining credible data and analysis, and the implementation of performance improvement processes. The EHR allows: identification of delays and the accountable service or person, collection and collation of data for analysis in multiple venues, including operational, financial, and quality. Metrics assessed included: operative cases, first case on time starts; reason for delay, and operating revenue. In 2006, 19,148 operations were performed (13,545 in the Main Operating Room (OR) area, and 5603, at satellite locations); first case on time starts were 12%; reasons for first case delay were not identifiable; and operating revenue was $115.8M overall, with $78.1M in the Main OR area. In 2010, cases increased to 25,856 (+35%); Main OR area increased to 13,986 (+3%); first case on time starts improved to 46%; operations outside the Main OR area increased to 11,870 (112%); case delays were ascribed to nurses 7%, anesthesiologists 22%, surgeons 33%, and other (patient, hospital) 38%. Five surgeons (7%) accounted for 29% of surgical delays and 4 anesthesiologists (8%) for 45% of anesthesiology delays; operating revenue increased to $177.3M (+53%) overall, and in the Main OR area rose to $101.5M (+30%). The use of operations management and EHR resulted in improved processes, credible data, promptly sharing the metrics, and pinpointing individual provider performance. Implementation of these strategies allowed us to shift cases between facilities, reallocate OR blocks, increase first case on time starts four fold and operative cases by 35%, and

  12. Measurements of operator performance - an experimental setup

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Netland, K.

    1980-01-01

    The human has to be considered as an important element in a process control system, even if the degree of automation is extremely high. Other elements, e.g. computer, displays, etc., can to a large extent be described and quantified. The human (operator), is difficult to describe in a precise way, and it is just as difficult to predict his thinking and acting in a control room environment. Many factors influence his performance, such as: experience, motivation, level of knowledge, training, control environment, job organization, etc. These factors have to a certain degree to be described before guidelines for design of the man-process interfaces and the control room layout can be developed. For decades, the psychological science has obtained knowledge of the human mind and behaviour. This knowledge should have the potential of a positive input on our effort to describe the factors influencing the operator performance. Even if the human is complex, a better understanding of his thinking and acting, and a more precise description of the factors influencing his performance can be obtained. At OECD Halden Reactor Project an experimental set-up for such studies has been developed and implemented in the computer laboratory. The present set-up includes elements as a computer- and display-based control room, a simulator representing a nuclear power plant, training programme for the subjects, and methods for the experiments. Set-up modules allow reconfiguration of experiments. (orig./HP)

  13. Gelfand-Dikii Hamiltonian operator and co-ad joint representation of the Volterra group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebedev, D.R.; Manin, Yu.I.

    1978-01-01

    It is shown that the Gelfand-Dikii Hamiltonian structure is an analogue of a very special class of finite-dimensional symplectic structures, namely, the Kirillow structures on the orbits of the co-adjoint representation of the Lie groups. The Lie group is represented by the Volterra operators. The main interest lies in the possibility of application of the ideology of ''geometric quantization'' to the Lax equations

  14. Solid oxide fuel cell performance under severe operating conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koch, Søren; Hendriksen, P.V.; Mogensen, Mogens Bjerg

    2006-01-01

    The performance and degradation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) were studied under severe operating conditions. The cells studied were manufactured in a small series by ECN, in the framework of the EU funded CORE-SOFC project. The cells were of the anode-supported type with a double layer LSM...... cathode. They were operated at 750 °C or 850 °C in hydrogen with 5% or 50% water at current densities ranging from 0.25 A cm–2 to 1 A cm–2 for periods of 300 hours or more. The area specific cell resistance, corrected for fuel utilisation, ranged between 0.20 Ω cm2 and 0.34 Ω cm2 at 850 °C and 520 m......V, and between 0.51 Ω cm2 and 0.92 Ω cm2 at 750 °C and 520 mV. The degradation of cell performance was found to be low (ranging from 0 to 8%/1,000 hours) at regular operating conditions. Voltage degradation rates of 20 to 40%/1,000 hours were observed under severe operating conditions, depending on the test...

  15. Development of an air-operated actuator performance monitoring system for regulatory usage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sung, K. Y.; Kwon, S. J.

    2004-01-01

    The performance monitoring system of air-operated actuators for regulatory usage has been being developed. Essential elements and operating parameters affecting the actuator performance have been investigated to provide basic information for system development. The monitoring system including an air-operated actuator testing facility and analysis softwares for monitoring and evaluation are also introduced in this paper. As a result of simulated tests, it was known that the system could be a useful tool for the effective monitoring of actuator performance change and fault conditions. This system would be applied to regulatory inspection for utility's data validation and to the training of regulatory staff in future after some modification and expansion

  16. Air pollution control through biotrickling filters: a review considering operational aspects and expected performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiavon, Marco; Ragazzi, Marco; Rada, Elena Cristina; Torretta, Vincenzo

    2016-12-01

    The biological removal of pollutants, especially through biotrickling filters (BTFs), has recently become attractive for the low investment and operational costs and the low secondary pollution. This paper is intended to investigate the state of the art on BTF applications. After an overview on the biodegradation process and the typical parameters involved, this paper presents the analysis of a group of 16 literature studies chosen as the references for this sector. The reference studies differ from one another by the pollutants treated (volatile organic compounds [VOC], hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen oxides and trimethylamine), the geometry and size of the BTFs, and the procedures of the tests. The reference studies are analyzed and discussed in terms of the operational conditions and the results obtained, especially with respect to the removal efficiencies (REs) and the elimination capacities (ECs) of the pollutants considered. Empty bed residence time (EBRT), pollutant loading rate, temperature, pH, oxygen availability, trickling liquid flow rate, inoculum selection and biomass control strategies revealed to be the most important operational factors influencing the removal performance of a BTF.

  17. Operational safety performance and economical efficiency evaluation for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Yachun; Zou Shuliang

    2012-01-01

    The economical efficiency of nuclear power includes a series of environmental parameters, for example, cleanliness. Nuclear security is the precondition and guarantee for its economy, and both are the direct embodiment of the social benefits of nuclear power. Through analyzing the supervision and management system on the effective operation of nuclear power plants, which has been put forward by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and other organizations, a set of indexs on the safety performance and economical efficiency of nuclear power are explored and established; Based on data envelopment analysis, a DEA approach is employed to evaluate the efficiency of the operation performance of several nuclear power plants, Some primary conclusion are achieved on the basis of analyzing the threshold parameter's sensitivity and relativity which affected operational performance. To address the conflicts between certain security and economical indicators, a multi-objective programming model is established, where top priority is given to nuclear safety, and the investment behavior of nuclear power plant is thereby optimized. (authors)

  18. Aiding operator performance at low power feedwater control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woods, D.D.

    1986-01-01

    Control of the feedwater system during low power operations (approximately 2% to 30% power) is a difficult task where poor performance (excessive trips) has a high cost to utilities. This paper describes several efforts in the human factors aspects of this task that are underway to improve feedwater control. A variety of knowledge acquisition techniques have been used to understand the details of what makes feedwater control at low power difficult and what knowledge and skill distinguishes expert operators at this task from less experienced ones. The results indicate that there are multiple factors that contribute to task difficulty

  19. LP turbine retrofit modernization: Improvements in performance and operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Groenedaal, J.C.; Fowls, L.G.; Subbiah, R.; Maxwell, B.P.; Persson, B.

    1996-01-01

    Westinghouse Electric Corporation retrofitted six low pressure (LP) nuclear turbine rotors and associated blade path components at Ringhals 1, a 1960's vintage English Electric (GEC) unit located near Varobacka, Sweden, and operated by Vattenfall AB. This achieved significant performance improvements and provided improved mechanical features over the original equipment. This paper, discusses design, manufacture, installation, operation and project coordination. The retrofit processes employed for these units can be applied to any potential customers units

  20. Performance assessment for continuing and future operations at Solid Waste Storage Area 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-02-01

    This radiological performance assessment for the continued disposal operations at Solid Waste Storage Area 6 (SWSA 6) on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) has been prepared to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the US DOE. The analysis of SWSA 6 required the use of assumptions to supplement the available site data when the available data were incomplete for the purpose of analysis. Results indicate that SWSA 6 does not presently meet the performance objectives of DOE Order 5820.2A. Changes in operations and continued work on the performance assessment are expected to demonstrate compliance with the performance objectives for continuing operations at the Interim Waste Management Facility (IWMF). All other disposal operations in SWSA 6 are to be discontinued as of January 1, 1994. The disposal units at which disposal operations are discontinued will be subject to CERCLA remediation, which will result in acceptable protection of the public health and safety

  1. Performance assessment for continuing and future operations at Solid Waste Storage Area 6

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-02-01

    This radiological performance assessment for the continued disposal operations at Solid Waste Storage Area 6 (SWSA 6) on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) has been prepared to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the US DOE. The analysis of SWSA 6 required the use of assumptions to supplement the available site data when the available data were incomplete for the purpose of analysis. Results indicate that SWSA 6 does not presently meet the performance objectives of DOE Order 5820.2A. Changes in operations and continued work on the performance assessment are expected to demonstrate compliance with the performance objectives for continuing operations at the Interim Waste Management Facility (IWMF). All other disposal operations in SWSA 6 are to be discontinued as of January 1, 1994. The disposal units at which disposal operations are discontinued will be subject to CERCLA remediation, which will result in acceptable protection of the public health and safety.

  2. Automation inflicted differences on operator performance in nuclear power plant control rooms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andersson, Jonas; Osvalder, A.L. [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Dept. of Product and Producton Development (Sweden)

    2007-03-15

    Today it is possible to automate almost any function in a human-machine system. Therefore it is important to find a balance between automation level and the prerequisites for the operator to maintain safe operation. Different human factors evaluation methods can be used to find differences between automatic and manual operations that have an effect on operator performance; e.g. Predictive Human Error Analysis (PHEA), NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), Halden Questionnaire, and Human Error Assessment and Reduction Technique (HEART). Results from an empirical study concerning automation levels, made at Ringhals power plant, showed that factors as time pressure and criticality of the work situation influenced the operator's performance and mental workload more than differences in level of automation. The results indicate that the operator's attention strategies differ between the manual and automatic sequences. Independently of level of automation, it is essential that the operator retains control and situational understanding. When performing a manual task, the operator is 'closer' to the process and in control with sufficient situational understanding. When the level of automation increases, the demands on information presentation increase to ensure safe plant operation. The need for control can be met by introducing 'control gates' where the operator has to accept that the automatic procedures are continuing as expected. Situational understanding can be established by clear information about process status and by continuous feedback. A conclusion of the study was that a collaborative control room environment is important. Rather than allocating functions to either the operator or the system, a complementary strategy should be used. Key parameters to consider when planning the work in the control room are time constraints and task criticality and how they affect the performance of the joint cognitive system.However, the examined working

  3. Automation inflicted differences on operator performance in nuclear power plant control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersson, Jonas; Osvalder, A.L.

    2007-03-01

    Today it is possible to automate almost any function in a human-machine system. Therefore it is important to find a balance between automation level and the prerequisites for the operator to maintain safe operation. Different human factors evaluation methods can be used to find differences between automatic and manual operations that have an effect on operator performance; e.g. Predictive Human Error Analysis (PHEA), NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), Halden Questionnaire, and Human Error Assessment and Reduction Technique (HEART). Results from an empirical study concerning automation levels, made at Ringhals power plant, showed that factors as time pressure and criticality of the work situation influenced the operator's performance and mental workload more than differences in level of automation. The results indicate that the operator's attention strategies differ between the manual and automatic sequences. Independently of level of automation, it is essential that the operator retains control and situational understanding. When performing a manual task, the operator is 'closer' to the process and in control with sufficient situational understanding. When the level of automation increases, the demands on information presentation increase to ensure safe plant operation. The need for control can be met by introducing 'control gates' where the operator has to accept that the automatic procedures are continuing as expected. Situational understanding can be established by clear information about process status and by continuous feedback. A conclusion of the study was that a collaborative control room environment is important. Rather than allocating functions to either the operator or the system, a complementary strategy should be used. Key parameters to consider when planning the work in the control room are time constraints and task criticality and how they affect the performance of the joint cognitive system.However, the examined working situations were too different

  4. Study on evaluation index system of operational performance of municipal wastewater treatment plants in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiaoxin, Zhang; Jin, Huang; Ling, Lin; Yan, Li

    2018-05-01

    According to the undeveloped evaluation method for the operational performance of the municipal wastewater treatment plants, this paper analyzes the policies related to sewage treatment industry based on the investigation of the municipal wastewater treatment plants. The applicable evaluation method for the operational performance was proposed from environmental protection performance, resources and energy consumption, technical and economic performance, production management and main equipment, providing a reliable basis for scientific evaluation of the operation as well as improving the operational performance of municipal wastewater treatment plant.

  5. Operational Safety Performance Indicators and Balanced Scorecard in HANARO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Jong-Sup; Jung, Hoan-Sung; Ahn, Guk-Hoon; Lee, Kye-Hong; Lim, In-Cheol; Kim, Hark-Rho

    2007-01-01

    Research reactors need an extensive basis for ensuring their safety. The importance of a safety management in nuclear facilities and activities has been emphasized. The safety activities in HANARO have been continuously conducted to enhance its safe operation. Last year, HANARO prepared two indicator sets to measure and assess the safety status of the reactor's operation and utilization. One is Safety Performance Indicators (SPI) and the other is Balanced Scorecard (BSC). Through reviewing these indicators, we can obtain the following information; - Plant safety status - Safety parameter trends - Safety information, for example, reactor operation status and radiation safety HANARO will continuously pursue the trends of SPI and BSC

  6. Dynamics of safety performance and culture: a group model building approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goh, Yang Miang; Love, Peter E D; Stagbouer, Greg; Annesley, Chris

    2012-09-01

    The management of occupational health and safety (OHS) including safety culture interventions is comprised of complex problems that are often hard to scope and define. Due to the dynamic nature and complexity of OHS management, the concept of system dynamics (SD) is used to analyze accident prevention. In this paper, a system dynamics group model building (GMB) approach is used to create a causal loop diagram of the underlying factors influencing the OHS performance of a major drilling and mining contractor in Australia. While the organization has invested considerable resources into OHS their disabling injury frequency rate (DIFR) has not been decreasing. With this in mind, rich individualistic knowledge about the dynamics influencing the DIFR was acquired from experienced employees with operations, health and safety and training background using a GMB workshop. Findings derived from the workshop were used to develop a series of causal loop diagrams that includes a wide range of dynamics that can assist in better understanding the causal influences OHS performance. The causal loop diagram provides a tool for organizations to hypothesize the dynamics influencing effectiveness of OHS management, particularly the impact on DIFR. In addition the paper demonstrates that the SD GMB approach has significant potential in understanding and improving OHS management. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Operator/contractor teamwork is the key to performance improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robins, K.B.; Roberts, J.D.M.

    1996-01-01

    The contract strategies developed by the two major E and P companies operating in the North Sea emphasize teamwork between operator and contractors to achieve the common goal of maximizing project value. These strategies have had significant repercussions across the whole industry. This paper compares these strategies and concludes that although they are structurally different, they have the same fundamental objectives. It describes the evolution of what these operators consider to be their core business, with the resultant changing roles for both operator and contractor staff. Several examples of results achieved through implementing these changes are described, highlighting the need for a structured performance measurement system to quantify the success of these initiatives. Finally, the potential for even greater efficiency improvements through further industry-wide cooperation is emphasized

  8. What makes a 'good group'? Exploring the characteristics and performance of undergraduate student groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Channon, S B; Davis, R C; Goode, N T; May, S A

    2017-03-01

    Group work forms the foundation for much of student learning within higher education, and has many educational, social and professional benefits. This study aimed to explore the determinants of success or failure for undergraduate student teams and to define a 'good group' through considering three aspects of group success: the task, the individuals, and the team. We employed a mixed methodology, combining demographic data with qualitative observations and task and peer evaluation scores. We determined associations between group dynamic and behaviour, demographic composition, member personalities and attitudes towards one another, and task success. We also employed a cluster analysis to create a model outlining the attributes of a good small group learning team in veterinary education. This model highlights that student groups differ in measures of their effectiveness as teams, independent of their task performance. On the basis of this, we suggest that groups who achieve high marks in tasks cannot be assumed to have acquired team working skills, and therefore if these are important as a learning outcome, they must be assessed directly alongside the task output.

  9. Culture and Inter-Group Relations Theory as a Pathway to Improve Decision Making in Coalition Operations

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    O'Mara, William J; Heacox, Nancy J; Gwynne, John W; Smillie, Robert J

    2000-01-01

    ... organizations, and special interest groups. Due to the wide cultural and organizational diversity of the participant groups, coalition operations pose significant challenges to the U.S. military...

  10. Small group gender ratios impact biology class performance and peer evaluations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, Lauren L; Ballen, Cissy J; Cotner, Sehoya

    2018-01-01

    Women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Evidence suggests the microclimate of the classroom is an important factor influencing female course grades and interest, which encourages retention of women in STEM fields. Here, we test whether the gender composition of small (8-9 person) learning groups impacts course performance, sense of social belonging, and intragroup peer evaluations of intellectual contributions. Across two undergraduate active learning courses in introductory biology, we manipulated the classroom microclimate by varying the gender ratios of learning groups, ranging from 0% female to 100% female. We found that as the percent of women in groups increased, so did overall course performance for all students, regardless of gender. Additionally, women assigned higher peer- evaluations in groups with more women than groups with less women. Our work demonstrates an added benefit of the retention of women in STEM: increased performance for all, and positive peer perceptions for women.

  11. Operating performance and reliability of CANDU PHWR fuel channels in Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strachan, B.; Brown, D.R.

    1983-03-01

    CANDU nuclear plants use many small-diameter high-pressure fuel channels. Good operating performance from the CANDU fuel channels has made a major contribution to the world-leading operating record of the CANDU nuclear power plants. As of 1982 December 31, there were 7,480 fuel channels installed in 18 CANDU reactors over 500 MW(e) in size. Eight of these reactors have been declared in-service and have accumulated 24,000 fuel channel-years of operation. The only significant operating problems with fuel channels have been the occurrence of leaking cracks in 70 fuel channels and a larger amount of axial creep on the early reactors than was originally provided for in the design. Both of these problems have been corrected on all CANDU reactors built since the Bruce GS 'A' station and the newer reactors should exhibit even better performance

  12. Complex matrix multiplication operations with data pre-conditioning in a high performance computing architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eichenberger, Alexandre E; Gschwind, Michael K; Gunnels, John A

    2014-02-11

    Mechanisms for performing a complex matrix multiplication operation are provided. A vector load operation is performed to load a first vector operand of the complex matrix multiplication operation to a first target vector register. The first vector operand comprises a real and imaginary part of a first complex vector value. A complex load and splat operation is performed to load a second complex vector value of a second vector operand and replicate the second complex vector value within a second target vector register. The second complex vector value has a real and imaginary part. A cross multiply add operation is performed on elements of the first target vector register and elements of the second target vector register to generate a partial product of the complex matrix multiplication operation. The partial product is accumulated with other partial products and a resulting accumulated partial product is stored in a result vector register.

  13. Simulator experiments: effects of NPP operator experience on performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beare, A.N.; Gray, L.H.

    1985-01-01

    Experiments are being conducted on nuclear power plant (NPP) control room training simulators by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, its subcontractor, General Physics Corporation, and participating utilities. The experiments are sponsored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Human Factors and Safeguards Branch, Division of Risk Analysis and Operations, and are a continuation of prior research using simulators, supported by field data collection, to provide a technical basis for NRC human factors regulatory issues concerned with the operational safety of nuclear power plants. During the FY83 research, a simulator experiment was conducted at the control room simulator for a GE boiling water reactor (BWR) NPP. The research subjects were licensed operators undergoing requalification training and shift technical advisors (STAs). This experiment was designed to investigate the effects of (a) senior reactor operator (SRO) experience, (b) operating crew augmentation with an STA and (c) practice, as a crew, upon crew and individual operator performance, in response to anticipated plant transients. The FY84 experiments are a partial replication and extension of the FY83 experiment, but with PWR operators and simulator. Methodology and results to date are reported

  14. COMMISSIONING AND DETECTOR PERFORMANCE GROUPS (DPG)

    CERN Multimedia

    Darin Acosta

    The pace of activity is high for the Detector Performance Groups now that the CMS experiment is complete for 2008 and LHC beams are imminent. This includes refinement of the data quality monitoring tools (including prompt offline analyses), triggers, reconstruction code, and calibration and alignment conditions. Notable since the last CMS Week has been the inclusion of the strip tracker into the global running in July and the inclusion of the pixel systems and ECAL endcaps in August. The following describes the highlights from each group. During the CRUZET3 global run in July (the third installment of the Cosmic Run at Zero Tesla exercise) the Silicon Strip tracker recorded data with all barrel detectors and one side of the end-cap wheels. The week-long data-taking period delivered about 300k tracks good for detector alignment and was an extremely valuable experience to test the reconstruction, calibration and alignment workflows in their final configuration. Events with tracks were selected in real-time at ...

  15. Performing concurrent operations in academic vascular neurosurgery does not affect patient outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zygourakis, Corinna C; Lee, Janelle; Barba, Julio; Lobo, Errol; Lawton, Michael T

    2017-11-01

    OBJECTIVE Concurrent surgeries, also known as "running two rooms" or simultaneous/overlapping operations, have recently come under intense scrutiny. The goal of this study was to evaluate the operative time and outcomes of concurrent versus nonconcurrent vascular neurosurgical procedures. METHODS The authors retrospectively reviewed 1219 procedures performed by 1 vascular neurosurgeon from 2012 to 2015 at the University of California, San Francisco. Data were collected on patient age, sex, severity of illness, risk of mortality, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) status, procedure type, admission type, insurance, transfer source, procedure time, presence of resident or fellow in operating room (OR), number of co-surgeons, estimated blood loss (EBL), concurrent vs nonconcurrent case, severe sepsis, acute respiratory failure, postoperative stroke causing neurological deficit, unplanned return to OR, 30-day mortality, and 30-day unplanned readmission. For aneurysm clipping cases, data were also obtained on intraoperative aneurysm rupture and postoperative residual aneurysm. Chi-square and t-tests were performed to compare concurrent versus nonconcurrent cases, and then mixed-effects models were created to adjust for different procedure types, patient demographics, and clinical indicators between the 2 groups. RESULTS There was a significant difference in procedure type for concurrent (n = 828) versus nonconcurrent (n = 391) cases. Concurrent cases were more likely to be routine/elective admissions (53% vs 35%, p returns to the OR (3.3% vs 6.9%; all p return to the OR and 30-day mortality were significantly lower in concurrent cases (odds ratio 0.55, 95% confidence interval 0.31-0.98, p = 0.0431, and odds ratio 0.81, p fashion. After adjusting for patient demographics, procedure type, and clinical indicators, concurrent cases had longer procedure times, but equivalent patient outcomes, as compared with nonconcurrent vascular neurosurgical procedures.

  16. Nuclear power plant control room operators' performance research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gray, L.H.; Haas, P.M.

    1984-01-01

    A research program is being conducted to provide information on the performance of nuclear power plant control room operators when responding to abnormal/emergency events in the plants and in full-scope training simulators. The initial impetus for this program was the need for data to assess proposed design criteria for the choice of manual versus automatic action for accomplishing safety-related functions during design basis accidents. The program also included studies of training simulator capabilities, of procedures and data for specifying and verifying simulator performance, and of methods and applications of task analysis

  17. Realization of vector fields for quantum groups as pseudodifferential operators on quantum spaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chu, Chong-Sun; Zumino, B.

    1995-01-01

    The vector fields of the quantum Lie algebra are described for the quantum groups GL q (n), SL q (N) and SO q (N) as pseudodifferential operators on the linear quantum spaces covariant under the corresponding quantum group. Their expressions are simple and compact. It is pointed out that these vector fields satisfy certain characteristic polynomial identities. The real forms SU q (N) and SO q (N,R) are discussed in detail

  18. Renormalization Group Equations of d=6 Operators in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2015-01-01

    The one-loop renormalization group equations for the Standard Model (SM) Effective Field Theory (EFT) including dimension-six operators are calculated. The complete 2499 × 2499 one-loop anomalous dimension matrix of the d=6 Lagrangian is obtained, as well as the contribution of d=6 operators to the running of the parameters of the renormalizable SM Lagrangian. The presence of higher-dimension operators has implications for the flavor problem of the SM. An approximate holomorphy of the one-loop anomalous dimension matrix is found, even though the SM EFT is not a supersymmetric theory.

  19. Representations of the Poincare group, position operator and the bi-local model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sohkawa, Tohru

    1978-01-01

    We propose two types of representations of the Poincare group which give general frameworks for introduction of internal degrees of freedom of a particle. The bi-local model recently proposed by Takabayasi is constructed through our frameworks. In this study, new covariant and non-covariant position operators are introduced and discussed. (author)

  20. 30 CFR 250.136 - How will MMS determine if my operating performance is unacceptable?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How will MMS determine if my operating... Disqualification § 250.136 How will MMS determine if my operating performance is unacceptable? In determining if your operating performance is unacceptable, MMS will consider, individually or collectively: (a...

  1. The Influence of Spatial Ability and Experience on Spacecraft Rendezvous and Docking Operation Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoping eDu

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Manual rendezvous and docking (manual RVD is a challenging space task for astronauts. Previous research showed a correlation between spatial ability and manual RVD skills among participants at early stages of training, but paid less attention to experts. Therefore, this study tried to explore the role of spatial ability in manual RVD skills in two groups of trainees, one relatively inexperienced and the other experienced operators. Additionally, mental rotation has been proven essential in RVD and was tested in this study among 27 male participants, 15 novices and 12 experts. The participants performed manual RVD tasks in a high fidelity simulator. Results showed that experience moderated the relation between mental rotation ability and manual RVD performance. On one hand, novices with high mental rotation ability tended to perform that RVD task more successfully; on the other hand, experts with high mental rotation ability showed not only no performance advantage in the final stage of the RVD task, but had certain disadvantages in their earlier processes. Both theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

  2. Identification of human operator performance models utilizing time series analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holden, F. M.; Shinners, S. M.

    1973-01-01

    The results of an effort performed by Sperry Systems Management Division for AMRL in applying time series analysis as a tool for modeling the human operator are presented. This technique is utilized for determining the variation of the human transfer function under various levels of stress. The human operator's model is determined based on actual input and output data from a tracking experiment.

  3. 44 ICT's, Service Delivery and Operational Performance in Nigerian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    2011-07-21

    Jul 21, 2011 ... influencing performance in organizations. This paper ... banking industry based on the fact that the main function of banks can be viewed not ..... adoption of IT devices on banks operations using both structural analyses and.

  4. Effective grouping for energy and performance: Construction of adaptive, sustainable, and maintainable data storage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Essary, David S.

    . We reduced the metadata needed by several orders of magnitude, reducing the required volume from more than 14% of total storage down to less than 1/2%. We also demonstrate how our collocation strategies outperform competing techniques. Finally, we present our complete model and evaluate a prototype implementation against real hardware. This model was demonstrated to be capable of reducing device-level accesses by up to 65%. Keywords: computer systems, collocation, data management, file systems, grouping, metadata, modeling and prediction, operating systems, performance, power, secondary storage.

  5. RTNS-II operations guidebook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heikkinen, D.W.

    1985-01-01

    This guidebook is intended to provide training criteria, procedures and guidelines for operation of the RTNS-II neutron sources and ancilliary equipment. Use of this document requires full knowledge of the RTNS-II Facility Safety Procedure (FSP) and any Operational Safety Procedures (OSP) in effect. The RTNS-II FSP defines the hazards which may be encountered at RTNS-II and defines the procedures which must be followed in performing any task including operations. The purpose of this document is to provide a central source of detailed information concerning systems and equipment used in operating the RTNS-II neutron sources on a day-to-day basis. All members of the Operations Group are expected to be familiar with its contents. It is also intended to be used in training new members of the Operations Group

  6. Pre-operative brachial plexus block compared with an identical block performed at the end of surgery: a prospective, double-blind, randomised clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmberg, A; Sauter, A R; Klaastad, Ø; Draegni, T; Raeder, J C

    2017-08-01

    We evaluated whether pre-emptive analgesia with a pre-operative ultrasound-guided infraclavicular brachial plexus block resulted in better postoperative analgesia than an identical block performed postoperatively. Fifty-two patients undergoing fixation of a fractured radius were included. All patients received general anaesthesia with remifentanil and propofol. Patients were randomly allocated into two groups: a pre-operative block or a postoperative block with 0.5 ml.kg -1 ropivacaine 0.75%. After surgery, all patients received regular paracetamol plus opioids for breakthrough pain. Mean (SD) time to first rescue analgesic after emergence from general anaesthesia was 544 (217) min in the pre-operative block group compared with 343 (316) min in the postoperative block group (p = 0.015). Postoperative pain scores were higher and more patients required rescue analgesia during the first 4 h after surgery in the postoperative block group. There were no significant differences in plasma stress mediators between the groups. Analgesic consumption was lower at day seven in the pre-operative block group. Pain was described as very strong at block resolution in 27 (63%) patients and 26 (76%) had episodes of mild pain after 6 months. We conclude that a pre-operative ultrasound-guided infraclavicular brachial plexus block provides longer and better analgesia in the acute postoperative period compared with an identical postoperative block in patients undergoing surgery for fractured radius. © 2017 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

  7. Performing an allreduce operation on a plurality of compute nodes of a parallel computer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faraj, Ahmad [Rochester, MN

    2012-04-17

    Methods, apparatus, and products are disclosed for performing an allreduce operation on a plurality of compute nodes of a parallel computer. Each compute node includes at least two processing cores. Each processing core has contribution data for the allreduce operation. Performing an allreduce operation on a plurality of compute nodes of a parallel computer includes: establishing one or more logical rings among the compute nodes, each logical ring including at least one processing core from each compute node; performing, for each logical ring, a global allreduce operation using the contribution data for the processing cores included in that logical ring, yielding a global allreduce result for each processing core included in that logical ring; and performing, for each compute node, a local allreduce operation using the global allreduce results for each processing core on that compute node.

  8. Operator coproduct-realization of quantum group transformations in two dimensional gravity, 1

    CERN Document Server

    Cremmer, E; Schnittger, J; Cremmer, E; Gervais, J L; Schnittger, J

    1996-01-01

    A simple connection between the universal R matrix of U_q(sl(2)) (for spins \\demi and J) and the required form of the co-product action of the Hilbert space generators of the quantum group symmetry is put forward. This gives an explicit operator realization of the co-product action on the covariant operators. It allows us to derive the quantum group covariance of the fusion and braiding matrices, although it is of a new type: the generators depend upon worldsheet variables, and obey a new central extension of U_q(sl(2)) realized by (what we call) fixed point commutation relations. This is explained by showing that the link between the algebra of field transformations and that of the co-product generators is much weaker than previously thought. The central charges of our extended U_q(sl(2)) algebra, which includes the Liouville zero-mode momentum in a nontrivial way are related to Virasoro-descendants of unity. We also show how our approach can be used to derive the Hopf algebra structure of the extended quant...

  9. Training and qualification of the auxiliaries of operation using the methodology On the Job Training (OJT) and Task Performance Evaluation (TPE)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez Casado, J.

    2015-01-01

    On the Job Training (OJT) and Task Performance Evaluation (TPE). This plan has been developed and put in practice entirely, by a group of experienced auxiliary operation that have distinguished themselves by their professionalism, knowledge of the work, technical expertise and commitment to nuclear safety. (Author)

  10. Behavioral Health and Performance Operations During the Space Shuttle Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beven, G.; Holland, A.; Moomaw, R.; Sipes, W.; Vander Ark, S.

    2011-01-01

    Prior to the Columbia STS 107 disaster in 2003, the Johnson Space Center s Behavioral Health and Performance Group (BHP) became involved in Space Shuttle Operations on an as needed basis, occasionally acting as a consultant and primarily addressing crew-crew personality conflicts. The BHP group also assisted with astronaut selection at every selection cycle beginning in 1991. Following STS 107, an event that spawned an increased need of behavioral health support to STS crew members and their dependents, BHP services to the Space Shuttle Program were enhanced beginning with the STS 114 Return to Flight mission in 2005. These services included the presence of BHP personnel at STS launches and landings for contingency support, a BHP briefing to the entire STS crew at L-11 months, a private preflight meeting with the STS Commander at L-9 months, and the presence of a BHP consultant at the L-1.5 month Family Support Office briefing to crew and family members. The later development of an annual behavioral health assessment of all active astronauts also augmented BHP s Space Shuttle Program specific services, allowing for private meetings with all STS crew members before and after each mission. The components of each facet of these BHP Space Shuttle Program support services will be presented, along with valuable lessons learned, and with recommendations for BHP involvement in future short duration space missions

  11. Factors affecting research productivity of production and operations management groups: An empirical study

    OpenAIRE

    George C. Hadjinicola; Andreas C. Soteriou

    2006-01-01

    This paper identifies factors that promote research productivity of production and operations management (POM) groups of researchers in US business schools. In this study, research productivity of a POM group is defined as the number of articles published per POM professor in a specific period of time. The paper also examines factors that affect research quality, as measured by the number of articles published per POM professor in journals, which have been recognized in the POM literature as ...

  12. Future In-Space Operations (FISO): A Working Group and Community Engagement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thronson, Harley; Lester, Dan

    2013-01-01

    Long-duration human capabilities beyond low Earth orbit (LEO), either in support of or as an alternative to lunar surface operations, have been assessed at least since the late 1960s. Over the next few months, we will present short histories of concepts for long-duration, free-space human habitation beyond LEO from the end of the Apollo program to the Decadal Planning Team (DPT)/NASA Exploration Team (NExT), which was active in 1999 2000 (see Forging a vision: NASA s Decadal Planning Team and the origins of the Vision for Space Exploration , The Space Review, December 19, 2005). Here we summarize the brief existence of the Future In-Space Operations (FISO) working group in 2005 2006 and its successor, a telecon-based colloquium series, which we co-moderate.

  13. Heterogeneity in business groups and the corporate diversification firm performance relationship.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    George, R.; Kabir, Mohammed Rezaul

    2012-01-01

    This article examines how heterogeneous features among business groups influence the corporate diversification–firm performance relationship. The study classifies heterogeneity along three dimensions: group size, group diversity, and share ownership. Using a sample of firms from India, the study

  14. Fatigue assessments in operating nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gosselin, S.R.; Deardorff, A.F.; Peltola, D.W.

    1994-01-01

    In November 1991, the ASME Section XI Task Group on Operating Plant Fatigue Assessment was formed to develop criteria and evaluation methodology for evaluating the effects of cyclic operation in operating nuclear power plants. The objective was to develop guidelines for inclusion in Section XI that could be used by plant operators in evaluating fatigue concerns and their impact on serviceability. This paper discusses the work performed by the Task Group. It explores the concept of ''Fatigue Design Basis'' versus ''Fatigue Operating Basis'' by examining the roles of ASME Section III and ASME Section XI in the design and operation of the nuclear power plants. Guidelines are summarized that may help plant operators perform effective design transient cycle evaluations and optimize cycle counting and fatigue usage tracking. The alternative fatigue evaluation approach using flaw tolerance is also introduced

  15. Transcultural group performance in extreme environment: Issues, concepts and emerging theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapierre, Judith; Bouchard, Stéphane; Martin, Thibault; Perreault, Michel

    2009-06-01

    A simulation for flight of international crew on space station took place in Moscow from July 1999 to April 2000 (SFINCS) at the State Biomedical Institute of Russia (IBMP) isolation chambers. Objectives of this study were to identify concepts of psychosocial adaptation and of social interactions to develop an explanation of the transcultural group performance. Method: constructivist epistemology with grounded theory research and fourth generation evaluation were used. Data on processes and interactions were gathered during 110 days of confinement as a subject and extended to 240 days as an outside scientist. Results indicate that coping is influenced by usual coping strategies and coping behaviors inside. Several stresses and human factor issues were identified altering well being and performance inside the chambers. Enabling and limiting forces are discussed. A theory on transcultural group performance is proposed. Issues are raised that appear critical to selection, training and group performance.

  16. COMMISSIONING AND DETECTOR PERFORMANCE GROUPS (DPG)

    CERN Document Server

    D. Acosta

    Run coordination and DPG The activities of the DPGs in the last six months have included the completion of publications (and many internal notes) on the data collected during CRAFT08 exercise, continuation of these studies with CRAFT09 data, and finally the first workflows and prompt feedback on 2009 LHC beam data. The level of readiness of the DPG prompt feedback groups is quite high, as first results from the early November “beam splash” data were shown to CMS within 24 hours of the first LHC beam. Moreover, results from the first collisions at 900 GeV were presented publicly three days afterward on November 26th. The CRAFT09 cosmic data taking period provided an opportunity to commission the calibration and alignment workflows on large data samples using the same software release series intended for the first LHC data, and to demonstrate routine operation of alignment and calibration workflows under production conditions. Significantly, the "prompt calibration loop" wa...

  17. Ergonomics Climate Assessment: A measure of operational performance and employee well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmeister, Krista; Gibbons, Alyssa; Schwatka, Natalie; Rosecrance, John

    2015-09-01

    Ergonomics interventions have the potential to improve operational performance and employee well-being. We introduce a framework for ergonomics climate, the extent to which an organization emphasizes and supports the design and modification of work to maximize both performance and well-being outcomes. We assessed ergonomics climate at a large manufacturing facility twice during a two-year period. When the organization used ergonomics to promote performance and well-being equally, and at a high level, employees reported less work-related pain. A larger discrepancy between measures of operational performance and employee well-being was associated with increased reports of work-related pain. The direction of this discrepancy was not significantly related to work-related pain, such that it didn't matter which facet was valued more. The Ergonomics Climate Assessment can provide companies with a baseline assessment of the overall value placed on ergonomics and help prioritize areas for improving operational performance and employee well-being. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  18. Condition-based dynamic maintenance operations planning and grouping. Application to commercial heavy vehicles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bouvard, K., E-mail: keomany.bouvard@volvo.co [Volvo Technology, 99 route de Lyon, 69806 Saint Priest cedex (France); Laboratoire d' Automatique de Genie Informatique et Signal - FRE3303 - Polytech' Lille, 59655 Villeneuve d' Ascq (France); Artus, S., E-mail: samuel.artus@volvo.co [Volvo Technology, 99 route de Lyon, 69806 Saint Priest cedex (France); Berenguer, C., E-mail: christophe.berenguer@utt.f [Universite de technologie de Troyes - Institut Charles Delaunay and UMR CNRS 6279 - 12, rue Marie Curie, BP2060, 10010 Troyes cedex (France); Cocquempot, V., E-mail: vincent.cocquempot@univ-lille1.f [Laboratoire d' Automatique de Genie Informatique et Signal - FRE3303 - Polytech' Lille, 59655 Villeneuve d' Ascq (France)

    2011-06-15

    This paper aims at presenting a method to optimize the maintenance planning for a commercial heavy vehicle. Such a vehicle may be considered as a multi-components system. Grouping maintenance operations related to each component reduces the global maintenance cost of the system. Classically, the optimization problem is solved using a priori reliability characteristics of components. Two types of methods may be used, i.e. static or dynamic methods. Static methods provide a fixed maintenance planning, whereas dynamic methods redefine the groups of maintenance operations at each decision time. Dynamic procedures can incorporate component information such as component states or detected failures. For deteriorating systems, reliability characteristics of each component may be estimated thanks to deterioration models and may be updated when a degradation measure is available. This additional information on degradation features allows to better follow the real state of each component and to improve the maintenance planning.

  19. Facets of operational performance in an emergency room (ER)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Vaart, Taco; Vastag, Gyula; Wijngaard, Jacob

    This paper, using detailed time measurements of patients complemented by interviews with hospital management and staff, examines three facets of an emergency room's (ER) operational performance: (1) effectiveness of the triage system in rationing patient treatment; (2) factors influencing ER's

  20. Product variety, product complexity and manufacturing operational performance: A systematic literature review

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Trattner, Alexandria Lee; Hvam, Lars; Herbert-Hansen, Zaza Nadja Lee

    Manufacturing in the twenty-first century has been wrought with the struggle to satisfy the rising demand for greater product variety and more complex products while still maintaining efficient manufacturing operations. However, the literature lacks an overview of which operational performance...... measures are most affected by increased variety and complexity. This study presents a systematic literature review of the recent scholarly literature on variety, complexity and manufacturing operational performance (MOP). Results show that product variety has a consistently negative relationship with MOP...... across different time, cost, quality and flexibility measures while product complexity lacks evidence of strong relationships with MOP measures....

  1. Operator performance on the night shift: phases 1 and 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morisseau, Dolores; Beere, Barnaby; Collier, Steve

    1999-04-01

    The objective of the project on operator performance on the night shift is to determine the effects of circadian rhythms on higher order cognitive processes. The project had two preliminary phases. Subjects were operators from the Halden Boiling Water Reactor, (Phase 1: 7 male operators and shift leaders, aged 26 to 35; Phase 2: 8 male operators and shift leaders, aged 26 to 53). The majority of the operators were the same for both studies. The preliminary work established that Norwegian operators' circadian rhythms fall within universal population norms and, thus, they are suitable subjects for such experiments. During Phase 1, two self-assessment instruments, the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) and the Global Vigour and Affect Scale (GVA), were administered every hour on all three shifts at the reactor. During Phase 2, three tests from the Walter Reed Performance Assessment Battery were administered at the beginning, middle, and end of each of the three shifts at the reactor. The tests (Serial Add-Subtract, Two-Column Addition, and Logical Reasoning) were administered using a hand-held computer. Both phases were conducted during regular work shifts for one complete shift rota (six weeks). ANOVA with two repeated measures showed that self-reported sleepiness on the night shift, sleepiness with respect to hours into the shift, and the interaction between them all reached statistical significance at p<.001. Data analyses (ANOVA) from Phase 2 indicate that the main effect of SHIFTNO (morning, afternoon, evening) on response times was significant (p<.002); the interaction between SHIFTNO and TINSHIFT (hours into shift) was also significant (p<.009). None of the effects on correctness of response was significant (Phase 2). While correctness of response was not significant for routine cognitive measures, the significant, progressive slowing of response times on the night shift reinforces the concern for possible performance decrements on the night shift. Thus, it

  2. Initial operation and performance of the PDX neutral-beam injection system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kugel, H.W.; Eubank, H.P.; Kozub, T.A.; Rossmassler, J.E.; Schilling, G.; van Halle, A.; Williams, M.D.

    1982-01-01

    In 1981, the joint ORNL/PPPL PDX neutral beam heating project succeeded in reliably injecting 7.2 MW of D 0 into the PDX plasma, at nearly perpendicular angles, and achieved ion temperatures up to 6.5 keV. The expeditious achievement of this result was due to the thorough conditioning and qualification of the PDX neutral beam ion sources at ORNL prior to delivery coupled with several field design changes and improvements in the injection system made at PPPL as a result of neutral beam operating experience with the PLT tokamak. It has been found that the operation of high power neutral beam injection systems in a tokamak-neutral beam environment requires procedures and performance different from those required for development operation on test stands. In this paper, we review the installatin of the PDX neutral beam injection system, and its operation and performance during the initial high power plasma heating experiments with the PDX tokamak

  3. Performance of Combustion Engineering fuel in operating PWRs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andrews, M.G.; Freeburn, H.R.; Wohlsen, W.D.

    1979-01-01

    Performance data on fuel assembly components from seven (7) operating reactors are presented, and discussed in detail where potential problems have occurred and been resolved. Fuel rod performance has continually improved over the last four (4) years with the gradual changeover to the current C-E fuel design. The reliability level is estimated at better than 99.99%, based on activity levels obtained through January 1979 at each plant. Control rod guide tubes have shown various degrees of wear caused by vibration of the control rods in their fully-withdrawn position. The retrofit of wear sleeves within the top portion of the affected guide tubes during routine refueling has permitted the use of these fuel assemblies with no significant loss in performance or safety margins

  4. Factor analysis of financial and operational performance measures of non-profit hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Dhiman

    2009-01-01

    To understand the important dimensions of the financial and operational performance of non-profit hospitals. Secondary data for non-profit US hospitals between 1996 and 2004. I use iterative principal factor analysis of hospitals' financial and operational ratios for each year of the study. For factor interpretation, I use oblique rotation. Financial ratios were created using cost report data from HCRIS 2552-96 available from the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS). I identify five factors--capital structure, profitability, activity, liquidity, and an operational factor--that explain most of the variation in the performance of non-profit hospitals. I also find that capital structure is more important than profitability in determining the performance of these hospitals. The importance of capital structure highlights a significant shift in the organization of the non-profit hospitals' finances.

  5. The influence of stakeholder groups in operation and maintenance services of offshore wind farms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ahsan, Dewan; Pedersen, Søren

    2018-01-01

    One of the prime challenges in offshore wind is to manage and coordinate with the various stakeholders involved in the operation and maintenance (O&M) phase. Therefore the aims of this paper are: i) to map the stakeholder groups involved in O&M of Offshore Wind Farm (OWF), ii) to assess...... the identified stakeholder group's interest and power to influence O&M, iii) to evaluate the relationship between different stakeholder groups and iv) to highlight potential strategies to manage the stakeholder groups. In this article, the stakeholder analysis approach is used. The results reveal that eleven key...

  6. Operational Work System Design and Staff Performance in the Nigerian Construction Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emmanuel Ejikeme Isichei

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The study investigated the impact of operational work system design on staff performance in selected construction firms in Nigeria. Research Design & Methods: The study used primary data gathered with the use of a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire format administered to 138 respondents. A hypothesis was postulated to test the significance of the research problem. Data analysis was carried out using correlation and multiple regression analysis which proved the significance of the alternative hypothesis as a result of testing the hypothesis. Findings: The findings show that there is a significant relationship between operational work system design and staff performance. The study concludes that operational job design can be advanced as a motivation tool, which is non-monetary in nature, to improve staff performance. Implications & Recommendations: A key drive to improve performance is the satisfaction of staff coupled with an outstanding operational job design which takes into consideration the total physical and mental well-being of staff and its interaction with other organisational factors. The study recommends, among others, that there should be active participation of staff in the design of work in the organisation. Contribution & Value Added: The study provides an empirical approach to enhancing performance in the construction industry and thereby developing an indigenous firm to compete favourably on a growing market.

  7. 19 CFR 10.178 - Direct costs of processing operations performed in the beneficiary developing country.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Direct costs of processing operations performed in... processing operations performed in the beneficiary developing country. (a) Items included in the direct costs of processing operations. As used in § 10.176, the words “direct costs of processing operations...

  8. Dynamic performance of self-operated three-way valve used in a hybrid air conditioner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Penglei; Zhou, Dehai; Shi, Wenxing; Li, Xianting; Wang, Baolong

    2014-01-01

    A hybrid air conditioner combining a thermosyphon cycle with a vapor compression refrigeration cycle has a large energy saving potential compared with a common air conditioner for spaces requiring year-round cooling. The performance of the switch between the vapor compression mode and the thermosyphon mode largely impacts the safety and reliability of hybrid air conditioners. Therefore, a self-operated three-way valve is proposed. A thermodynamic model and a kinetic model are developed in this paper to evaluate the dynamic performance of the switch valve. The effects of the spring force constant, compressor discharging volume, fit clearance and piston length on the dynamic performance of the switch valve are analyzed. In conclusion, the proposed self-operated three-way valve can realize the switch operation accurately. - Highlights: •A self-operated three-way valve is proposed for hybrid air conditioners. •The thermodynamic model and kinetic model of the self-operated three-way valve are developed. •The validity of models is verified by experiments. •Effects of four main design parameters on the operating performance of the valve are researched

  9. Group social rank is associated with performance on a spatial learning task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langley, Ellis J G; van Horik, Jayden O; Whiteside, Mark A; Madden, Joah R

    2018-02-01

    Dominant individuals differ from subordinates in their performances on cognitive tasks across a suite of taxa. Previous studies often only consider dyadic relationships, rather than the more ecologically relevant social hierarchies or networks, hence failing to account for how dyadic relationships may be adjusted within larger social groups. We used a novel statistical method: randomized Elo-ratings, to infer the social hierarchy of 18 male pheasants, Phasianus colchicus , while in a captive, mixed-sex group with a linear hierarchy. We assayed individual learning performance of these males on a binary spatial discrimination task to investigate whether inter-individual variation in performance is associated with group social rank. Task performance improved with increasing trial number and was positively related to social rank, with higher ranking males showing greater levels of success. Motivation to participate in the task was not related to social rank or task performance, thus indicating that these rank-related differences are not a consequence of differences in motivation to complete the task. Our results provide important information about how variation in cognitive performance relates to an individual's social rank within a group. Whether the social environment causes differences in learning performance or instead, inherent differences in learning ability predetermine rank remains to be tested.

  10. Effects of Sequences of Cognitions on Group Performance Over Time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molenaar, Inge; Chiu, Ming Ming

    2017-04-01

    Extending past research showing that sequences of low cognitions (low-level processing of information) and high cognitions (high-level processing of information through questions and elaborations) influence the likelihoods of subsequent high and low cognitions, this study examines whether sequences of cognitions are related to group performance over time; 54 primary school students (18 triads) discussed and wrote an essay about living in another country (32,375 turns of talk). Content analysis and statistical discourse analysis showed that within each lesson, groups with more low cognitions or more sequences of low cognition followed by high cognition added more essay words. Groups with more high cognitions, sequences of low cognition followed by low cognition, or sequences of high cognition followed by an action followed by low cognition, showed different words and sequences, suggestive of new ideas. The links between cognition sequences and group performance over time can inform facilitation and assessment of student discussions.

  11. Task Performance in Small Group Settings: The Role of Group Members' Self-Efficacy And Collective Efficacy and Group's Characteristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khong, Jerrine Z. N.; Liem, Gregory Arief D.; Klassen, Robert M.

    2017-01-01

    The present study extends the literature by investigating the relative salience of self- and collective efficacy in predicting group performance among early adolescents in Indonesia. A total of 435 early adolescents (mean age 11.70 years, 53% female) were randomly assigned to groups of three to four and completed three group tasks (task 1:…

  12. A prospective cohort study of the morbidity associated with operative vaginal deliveries performed by day and at night.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, Katherine; Ramphul, Meenakshi; Dunney, Clare; Farren, Maria; McSweeney, Aoife; McNamara, Karen; Murphy, Deirdre J

    2014-10-29

    To evaluate maternal and neonatal outcomes associated with operative vaginal deliveries (OVDs) performed by day and at night. Prospective cohort study. Urban maternity unit in Ireland with off-site consultant staff at night. All nulliparous women requiring an OVD with a term singleton fetus in a cephalic presentation from February to November 2013. Delivery outcomes were compared for women who delivered by day (08:00-19:59) or at night (20:00-07:59). The main outcomes included postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), anal sphincter tear and neonatal unit admission. Procedural factors included operator grade, sequential use of instruments and caesarean section. Of the 597 women who required an OVD, 296 (50%) delivered at night. Choice of instrument, place of delivery, sequential use of instruments and caesarean section did not differ significantly in relation to time of birth. Mid-grade operators performed less OVDs by day than at night, OR 0.60 (95% CI 0.43 to 0.83), and a consultant supervisor was more frequently present by day, OR 2.26 (95% CI 1.05 to 4.83). Shoulder dystocia occurred more commonly by day, OR 2.57 (95% CI 1.05 to 6.28). The incidence of PPH, anal sphincter tears, neonatal unit admission, fetal acidosis and neonatal trauma was similar by day and at night. The mean decision to delivery intervals were 12.0 and 12.6 min, respectively. There was no evidence of an association between time of OVD and adverse perinatal outcomes despite off-site consultant obstetric support at night. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  13. A cadaveric procedural anatomy simulation course improves video-based assessment of operative performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Gaurav; Aycart, Mario A; O'Mara, Lynne; Havens, Joaquim; Nehs, Matthew; Shimizu, Naomi; Smink, Douglas S; Gravereaux, Edwin; Gates, Jonathan D; Askari, Reza

    2018-03-01

    Inadequate anatomic knowledge has been cited as a major contributor to declining surgical resident operative competence. We analyzed the impact of a comprehensive, procedurally oriented cadaveric procedural anatomy dissection laboratory on the operative performance of surgery residents, hypothesizing that trainees' performance of surgical procedures would improve after such a dissection course. Midlevel general surgery residents (n = 9) participated in an 8 wk, 16-h surgery faculty-led procedurally oriented cadaver simulation course. Both before and after completion of the course, residents participated in a practical examination, in which they were randomized to perform one of nine Surgical Council on Resident Education-designated "essential" procedures. The procedures were recorded using wearable video technology. Videos were deidentified before evaluation by six faculty raters blinded to examinee and whether performances occurred before or after an examinee had taken the course. Raters used the validated Operative Performance Rating System and Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill scales. After the course residents had higher procedure-specific scores (median, 4.0 versus 2.4, P 4.0 versus 3.0, P = 0.006), respect for tissue (4.0 versus 3.0, P = 0.0004), time and motion (3.0 versus 2.0, P = 0.0007), operation flow (3.0 versus 2.0, P = 0.0005), procedural knowledge (4.0 versus 2.0, P = 0.0001), and overall performance scores (4.0 versus 2.0, P < 0.0001). Operative Performance Rating System and Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill scales averaged by number of items in each were also higher (3.2 versus 2.0, P = 0.0002 and 3.1 versus 2.2, P = 0.002, respectively). A cadaveric procedural anatomy simulation course covering a broad range of open general surgery procedures was associated with significant improvements in trainees' operative performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Fuzzy inference system for evaluating and improving nuclear power plant operating performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guimaraes, Antonio Cesar F.; Lapa, Celso Marcelo Franklin

    2003-01-01

    This paper presents a fuzzy inference system (FIS) as an approach to estimate Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) performance indicators. The performance indicators for this study are the energy availability factor (EAF) and the planned (PUF) and unplanned unavailability factor (UUF). These indicators are obtained from a non analytical combination among the same operational parameters. Such parameters are, for example, environment impacts, industrial safety, radiological protection, safety indicators, scram rate, thermal efficiency, and fuel reliability. This approach uses the concept of a pure fuzzy logic system where the fuzzy rule base consists of a collection of fuzzy IF-THEN rules. The fuzzy inference engine uses these fuzzy IF-THEN rules to determine a mapping from fuzzy sets in the input universe of discourse to fuzzy sets in the output universe of discourse based on fuzzy logic principles. The results demonstrated the potential of the fuzzy inference to generate a knowledge basis that correlate operations occurrences and NPP performance. The inference system became possible the development of the sensitivity studies, future operational condition previsions and may support the eventual corrections on operation of the plant

  15. Constellation Mission Operation Working Group: ESMO Maneuver Planning Process Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moyer, Eric

    2015-01-01

    The Earth Science Mission Operation (ESMO) Project created an Independent Review Board to review our Conjunction Risk evaluation process and Maneuver Planning Process to identify improvements that safely manages mission conjunction risks, maintains ground track science requirements, and minimizes overall hours expended on High Interest Events (HIE). The Review Board is evaluating the current maneuver process which requires support by multiple groups. In the past year, there have been several changes to the processes although many prior and new concerns exist. This presentation will discuss maneuver process reviews and Board comments, ESMO assessment and path foward, ESMO future plans, recent changes and concerns.

  16. On the representation of symmetry group transformation operators in the interaction picture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jorjadze, G.P.; Khvedelidze, A.M.; Kvinikhidze, A.H.

    1987-01-01

    The representation similar to that of Dyson, is obtained in the form of a chronologically (antichronologically) ordered exponent for operators of any symmetry group transformations of an interacting quantum field system. The exponent is given by an integral of the interaction Hamiltonian density in Dirac's picture. The domain of integration is determined by the symmetry transformation considered. 3 refs.; 2 figs

  17. Performance Agent Groups in the Promotion of Smart Economic Growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krūzmētra Maiga

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Any country is interested in economic growth regardless of its development level in any period; yet an increasingly important role in defining growth is played by the term ‘smart growth’. The EU development strategy until 2020 defines smart growth as a strategic objective. Smart growth does not take place automatically. It is affected both by the condition of the economic, social and natural environments and by subjective factors - the competence of performance agents. The present research distinguished three groups of rural space and regional performance agents: national institutions, local governments and communities of residents of the territories examined by the research. The research summarised the opinions of experts (Latvia n=171; Lithuania n=163 from the south-eastern part of Latvia and the north-eastern part of Lithuania with the purpose of assessing the contribution of the performance agent groups to the promotion of smart economic growth. The research aimed to identify the positive indications of the contribution made by each performance agent group as well as the largest problems affecting the promotion of smart economic growth in each country. Despite the fact that the sample groups were not representative (did not reflect the views of the entire population, the obtained survey data and the results of this analysis provided insight into the performance agents’ action ratings from the bottom-up position and allowed comparing the situations in Latvia and Lithuania. The research has become an urgent task in project No. 5.2.3 “Rural and Regional Development Processes and Opportunities in Latvia in the Context of Knowledge Economy” in National Research Programme 5.2. "Economic Transformation, Smart Growth, Governance and Legal Framework for the State and Society for Sustainable Development - a New Approach to the Creation of a Sustainable Learning Community: EKOSOC-LV”.

  18. Organizational Culture Influence On Total Productive Maintenance (TPM and Operational Performance Using RASCH Model Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohd Norhasni Mohd Asaad

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. Market globalization, competitive product and services, high economic crises are the most critical factors that influence the success of the manufacturing companies in global market. Therefore it is critical to the manufacturing companies to be efficient in production and lean tool may used to achieve that.  The most frequently used is the Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM, even though there are many studies have been conducted in relation to the TPM but there is limited research in investigating the effects of the TPM on operational performance. However, the result of the studies was not consistent, where TPM practice may have positive and negative impact on operational performance. Among the reason is the culture of the organization that influenced the implementation of TPM and operational performance. Due to that this study attempts to investigate the influence of organizational culture on the TPM implementation and operational performance.  Rasch model is used in this study due to its ability in interpreting and analyzing the ability of respondents in performing the difficult items. The online questionnaires were distributed to 63 randomly selected automotive companies located at Northern Region of Malaysia.  Results of the study revealed that the organizational culture has influenced on the successful implementation of TPM and operational performance. Therefore by the implementation of TPM in outstanding organizational culture can improve operational performance.   Keyword: Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM, Lean manufacturing, Operational performance, Organizational culture, Rasch modeldoi:10.12695/ajtm.2013.6.2.2How to cite this article:Mohd Asaad, M.N and Yusoff, R.Z. (2013. Organizational Culture Influence On Total Productive Maintenance (TPM and Operational Performance Using RASCH Model Analysis . The Asian Journal of Technology Management 6 (2: 72-81. Print ISSN: 1978-6956; Online ISSN: 2089-791X.  doi:10.12695/ajtm

  19. Aspects of human performance as perceived by the members of a joint probabilistic risk assessment working group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gubler, R.; Chakraborty, S.

    1987-01-01

    For the purpose of refining the basis for emergency planning a partial probabilistic risk assessment has been carried out for a large Swiss pressurized water reactor of German design. During the investigations on system reliability it became apparent that the most sensitive and also the most important subject to deal with in the working group was the quantification of the performance of the plant personnel. The discussions showed clearly, that different and sometimes antagonistic aspects of viewing the performance of the plant personnel exist. However, because of the limited data base in the field considered, impartiality is difficult. In order to handle these difficulties the analysis was carried out with close reliance on previously performed and accessible studies for similar tasks and situations in nuclear power plants. The procedure is illustrated by two examples, the first assessing the reliability of calibrating an instrument channel of the reactor protection systems, the second assessing the performance of operators during a small loss of coolant accident. (author)

  20. Performance assessment of a micro-cogeneration system under realistic operating conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosato, Antonio; Sibilio, Sergio

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Performances of a micro-cogeneration system have been experimentally evaluated. • Cogenerator performances have been compared with those of a traditional system. • Measured data have been analyzed from both energy and exergy points of view. - Abstract: The European Parliament stated that high-efficiency cogeneration is a Community priority given the potential benefits of cogeneration with regard to saving primary energy and reducing emissions. According to this position, the performance of many micro-cogeneration systems have been assessed from an energy and environmental point of view. However, in the most part of cases, the assessments have been performed by using technical data from manufacturers and/or experimental results measured during steady-state operation, without considering the inefficiencies related to the transient periods; in addition, few works have been devoted to analyze the system operation from an exergy-based point of view. In this paper the electric load-following operation of an internal combustion engine based micro-cogeneration unit with 6.0 kW as nominal electric output has been experimentally investigated in electric load-following operation during a 24 h dynamic test with the application of a realistic daily load profile representing the Italian domestic non-HVAC electric demand for a multi-family house of five dwellings. The measured data have been compared with those that would be associated with servicing the building with electricity from the central electric grid and heat from a natural gas fired boiler from an energy, exergy and environmental points of view

  1. Influence of impurity gases and operating conditions on PAFC performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hirai, K.; Iwasa, N.; Suzuki, M.; Okada, O. [Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (Japan)] [and others

    1996-12-31

    On-site Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC) Cogeneration system is installed at various test sites, such as at underground parking lot, within chemical plant premises and near urban streets. Since in the current PAFC system, cathode air is supplied to the cell with no particular pretreatment, impurity gases in the air might influence on cell performance. We have investigated the influence of various impurity gases in the cathode gas, on sub-scale single cells, and have found that NO{sub 2}, SO{sub 2} and toluene affect negatively on cell performance. The results of these experiments and the conceivable mechanism of these effects on cell degradation are reported. We have also investigated the influence of other operating parameters, such as temperature, current density, fuel utilization on cell performance. From these experiments, we have found that operating temperature is a significant factor, which mainly determines cell voltage decline rate. The results of sub-scale single cell tests and a short-stack verification test are also reported.

  2. An approach for quantitative evaluation of operator performance in emergency conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ujita, Hiroshi; Kubota, Ryuji; Kawano, Ryutaro.

    1992-01-01

    To understand expert behavior and define what constitutes good performance, human performance quantification was tried from viewpoints of not only error, but also various cognitive, psychological, and behavioral characteristics. Quantitative and qualitative indexes of human performance are proposed for both operator individual and crew points of view, among which cognitive and behavioral aspects are the most important. (author)

  3. The ATLAS SemiConductor Tracker operation and performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pater, J. R.

    2012-04-01

    The ATLAS SemiConductor Tracker (SCT) is a key precision tracking detector in the ATLAS experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. The SCT is composed of 4088 planar p-in-n silicon micro-strip detectors. The signals from the strips are processed in the front-end ABCD3TA ASICs, which operate in binary readout mode; data are transferred to the off-detector readout electronics via optical fibres. The SCT was completed in 2007. An extensive commissioning phase followed, during which calibration data were collected and analysed to determine the noise performance of the system, and further performance parameters of the detector were determined using cosmic ray data, both with and without magnetic field. After the commissioning phase, the SCT was ready for the first LHC proton-proton collisions in December 2009. From the beginning of data taking, the completed SCT has been in very good shape with more than 99% of its 6.3 million strips operational; the detector is well timed-in and the operational channels are 99.9% efficient in data acquisition. The noise occupancy and hit efficiency are better than the design specifications. The detector geometry is monitored continuously with a laser-based alignment system and is stable to the few-micron level; the alignment accuracy as determined by tracks is near specification and improving as statistics increase. The sensor behaviour in the 2T solenoidal magnetic field has been studied by measuring the Lorentz angle. Radiation damage in the silicon is monitored by periodic measurements of the leakage current; these measurements are in reasonable agreement with predictions.

  4. A mixture of "cheats" and "co-operators" can enable maximal group benefit.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R Craig MaClean

    Full Text Available Is a group best off if everyone co-operates? Theory often considers this to be so (e.g. the "conspiracy of doves", this understanding underpinning social and economic policy. We observe, however, that after competition between "cheat" and "co-operator" strains of yeast, population fitness is maximized under co-existence. To address whether this might just be a peculiarity of our experimental system or a result with broader applicability, we assemble, benchmark, dissect, and test a systems model. This reveals the conditions necessary to recover the unexpected result. These are 3-fold: (a that resources are used inefficiently when they are abundant, (b that the amount of co-operation needed cannot be accurately assessed, and (c the population is structured, such that co-operators receive more of the resource than the cheats. Relaxing any of the assumptions can lead to population fitness being maximized when cheats are absent, which we experimentally demonstrate. These three conditions will often be relevant, and hence in order to understand the trajectory of social interactions, understanding the dynamics of the efficiency of resource utilization and accuracy of information will be necessary.

  5. Virtual tape measure for the operating microscope: system specifications and performance evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, M Y; Drake, J M; Milgram, P

    2000-01-01

    The Virtual Tape Measure for the Operating Microscope (VTMOM) was created to assist surgeons in making accurate 3D measurements of anatomical structures seen in the surgical field under the operating microscope. The VTMOM employs augmented reality techniques by combining stereoscopic video images with stereoscopic computer graphics, and functions by relying on an operator's ability to align a 3D graphic pointer, which serves as the end-point of the virtual tape measure, with designated locations on the anatomical structure being measured. The VTMOM was evaluated for its baseline and application performances as well as its application efficacy. Baseline performance was determined by measuring the mean error (bias) and standard deviation of error (imprecision) in measurements of non-anatomical objects. Application performance was determined by comparing the error in measuring the dimensions of aneurysm models with and without the VTMOM. Application efficacy was determined by comparing the error in selecting the appropriate aneurysm clip size with and without the VTMOM. Baseline performance indicated a bias of 0.3 mm and an imprecision of 0.6 mm. Application bias was 3.8 mm and imprecision was 2.8 mm for aneurysm diameter. The VTMOM did not improve aneurysm clip size selection accuracy. The VTMOM is a potentially accurate tool for use under the operating microscope. However, its performance when measuring anatomical objects is highly dependent on complex visual features of the object surfaces. Copyright 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  6. [Job performance in work organizations: the effects of management by group goals and job interdependence].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ikeda, Hiroshi; Furukawa, Hisataka

    2015-04-01

    cThis study examined the interactive effect of management by group goals and job interdependence on employee's activities in terms of task and contextual performance. A survey was conducted among 140 Japanese employees. Results indicated that management by group goals was related only to contextual performance. Job interdependence, however, had a direct effect on both task and contextual performance. Moreover, moderated regression analyses revealed that for work groups requiring higher interdependence among employees, management by group goals had a positive relation to contextual performance but not to task performance. When interdependence was not necessarily required, however, management by group goals had no relation to contextual performance and even negatively impacted task performance, respectively. These results show that management by group goals affects task and contextual performance, and that this effect is moderated by job interdependence. This provides a theoretical extension as well as a practical application to the setting and management of group goals.

  7. Performing derivative and integral operations for optical waves with optical metamaterials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dai, Cun-Li [College of Engineering, Nanjing Agriculture University, Nanjing Jiangsu, 210031 (China); College of Science, Nanjing Agriculture University, Nanjing Jiangsu, 210095 (China); Zhao, Zhi-Gang; Li, Xiao-Lin [College of Engineering, Nanjing Agriculture University, Nanjing Jiangsu, 210031 (China); Yang, Hong-Wei, E-mail: phd_hwyang@njau.edu.cn [College of Science, Nanjing Agriculture University, Nanjing Jiangsu, 210095 (China)

    2016-12-01

    The graded refractive index waveguides can perform Fourier transform for an optical wave. According to this characteristic, simpler optical metamaterials with three waveguides are theoretically proposed, in which all of the waveguides are materials with a positive refractive index. By selecting the appropriate refractive index and structure size, the theory and simulations demonstrated that these metamaterials can perform mathematical operations for the outline of incident optical waves, including the first-order derivative, second-order derivative and the integral. - Highlights: • The derivative and integral operations of optical waves are achieved with a simpler model. • Both negative and positive refractive index boast the same functions. • The mathematical operations can be implemented only by changing the refractive index of the intermediate material. • The results will greatly expand the possible applications, including photon computers, picture processing, video displays and data storage.

  8. Operating System Support for High-Performance Solid State Drives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørling, Matias

    of the operating system in reducing the gap, and enabling new forms of communication and even co-design between applications and high-performance SSDs. More specifically, we studied the storage layers within the Linux kernel. We explore the following issues: (i) what are the limitations of the legacy block...... a form of application-SSD co-design? What are the impacts on operating system design? (v) What would it take to provide quality of service for applications requiring millions of I/O per second? The dissertation consists of six publications covering these issues. Two of the main contributions...

  9. A Proficiency Based Stepwise Endovascular Curricular Training (PROSPECT) Program Enhances Operative Performance in Real Life: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maertens, H; Aggarwal, R; Moreels, N; Vermassen, F; Van Herzeele, I

    2017-09-01

    Healthcare evolution requires optimisation of surgical training to provide safe patient care. Operating room performance after completion of proficiency based training in vascular surgery has not been investigated. A randomised controlled trial evaluated the impact of a Proficiency based Stepwise Endovascular Curricular Training program (PROSPECT) on the acquisition of endovascular skills and the transferability of these skills to real life interventions. All subjects performed two endovascular interventions treating patients with symptomatic iliac and/or superficial femoral artery stenosis under supervision. Primary outcomes were technical performances (Global Rating Scale [GRS]; Examiner Checklist), operative metrics, and patient outcomes, adjusted for case difficulty and trainee experience. Secondary outcomes included knowledge and technical performance after 6 weeks and 3 months. Thirty-two general surgical trainees were randomised into three groups. Besides traditional training, the first group (n = 11) received e-learning and simulation training (PROSPECT), the second group (n = 10) only had access to e-learning, while controls (n = 11) did not receive supplementary training. Twenty-nine trainees (3 dropouts) performed 58 procedures. Trainees who completed PROSPECT showed superior technical performance (GRS 39.36 ± 2.05; Checklist 63.51 ± 3.18) in real life with significantly fewer supervisor takeovers compared with trainees receiving e-learning alone (GRS 28.42 ± 2.15; p = .001; Checklist 53.63 ± 3.34; p = .027) or traditional education (GRS 23.09 ± 2.18; p = .001; Checklist 38.72 ± 3.38; p = .001). Supervisors felt more confident in allowing PROSPECT trained physicians to perform basic (p = .006) and complex (p = .003) procedures. No differences were detected in procedural parameters (such as fluoroscopy time, DAP, procedure time, etc.) or complications. Proficiency levels were maintained up to 3 months. A structured

  10. Levels of Management Commitment: A Moderator the Structural Relationships among Critical Success Factors of TQM, World-Class Performance in Operations, and Company Financial Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wakhid Slamet Ciptono

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates the moderating impacts of the three levels of management commitment (top, middle, and low levels on the structural relationships among the constructs— six critical success factors of TQM (quality improvement program, supervisory leadership, supplier involvement, management commitment, training to improve products/services, cross-functional relationships; world-class performance in operations (world-class company practices, operational excellence practices, company non-financial performance; and company financial performance. It uses a sample of 1,332 managers in 140 strategic business units (SBUs within 49 oil and gas companies in Indonesia. The empirical results indicate that the goodness-of-fit of the unconstrained model is much better than that of the constrained model, and this is an indicative that the three level of management moderates the structural relationships among the constructs. Those are, three levels of management act as a moderator variable between critical success factors of TQM, world-class company practices, operational excellence practices, company non-financial performance, and company financial performance. Results further reveal that world-class performances in operations (world-class company practices, operational excellence practices, and company non-financial performance were positively mediated the impact of critical success factors of TQM on company financial performance. Results also point out that five of six critical success factors of TQM positively associated with world-class company practices and operational excellence practices under the three levels of management (top, middle, low. World-class company practices and operational excellence practices have direct and significant effects on company non-financial performance (productivity, operational reliability. Furthermore, empirical results suggest that there is a positive and significant relationship between company non

  11. ORSERG resource book. Operational reactor safety engineering and review group. Final report, March 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-03-01

    EPRI has prepared this resource book to help utilities with their Self-Assessment Programs at nuclear power plants. Self-assessments are reviews performed by nuclear power plant utilities to monitor plant performance status and adequacy, identify trends in operational activities important to safety, and assess the impact of these trends on plant safety. Activities performed as self-assessments include reviews and evaluations of plant performance and abnormal events, technical evaluations of plant activities to identify potential problem areas, and reviews of other sources of plant design and operating experience for applicability to safety. This resource book is based on information obtained from utilities and includes examples of activities and methods that have proven effective. The resource book includes a summary of NRC requirements, guidelines for self-assessment program planning, descriptions and examples of investigative techniques, and key references that can be consulted for additional information. It can serve as a training guide for plant staff members who are assigned to self-assessment activities. (author)

  12. Operations-oriented performance measures for freeway management systems : final report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-12-01

    This report describes the second and final year activities of the project titled Using Operations-Oriented Performance Measures to Support Freeway Management Systems. Work activities included developing a prototype system architecture for testi...

  13. Operational limitations of light water reactors relating to fuel performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, H.S.

    1976-07-01

    General aspects of fuel performance for typical Boiling and Pressurized Water Reactors are presented. Emphasis is placed on fuel failures in order to make clear important operational limitations. A discussion of fuel element designs is first given to provide the background information for the subsequent discussion of several fuel failure modes that have been identified. Fuel failure experiences through December 31, 1974, are summarized. The operational limitations that are required to mitigate the effects of fuel failures are discussed

  14. Research on Integration of NPP Operational Safety Management Performance Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chi, Miao; Shi, Liping

    2014-01-01

    The operational safety management of Nuclear Power Plants demands systematic planning and integrated control. NPPs are following the well-developed safety indicator systems proposed by IAEA Operational Safety Performance Indicator Programme, NRC Reactor Oversight Process or the other institutions. Integration of the systems is proposed to benefiting from the advantages of both systems and avoiding improper application into the real world. The authors analyzed the possibility and necessity for system integration, and propose an indicator system integrating method

  15. Individual styles of professional operator's performance for the needs of interplanetary mission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boritko, Yaroslav; Gushin, Vadim; Zavalko, Irina; Smoleevskiy, Alexandr; Dudukin, Alexandr

    Maintenance of the cosmonaut’s professional performance reliability is one of the priorities of long-term space flights safety. Cosmonaut’s performance during long-term space flight decreases due to combination of the microgravity effects and inevitable degradation of skills during prolonged breaks in training. Therefore, the objective of the elaboration of countermeasures against skill decrement is very relevant. During the experiment with prolonged isolation "Mars-500" in IMBP two virtual models of professional operator’s activities were used to investigate the influence of extended isolation, monotony and confinement on professional skills degradation. One is well-known “PILOT-1” (docking to the space station), another - "VIRTU" (manned operations of planet exploration). Individual resistance to the artificial sensory conflict was estimated using computerized version of “Mirror koordinograf” with GSR registration. Two different individual performance styles, referring to the different types of response to stress, have been identified. Individual performance style, called "conservative control", manifested in permanent control of parameters, conditions and results of the operator’s activity. Operators with this performance style demonstrate high reliability in performing tasks. The drawback of the style is intensive resource expenditure - both the operator (physiological "cost") and the technical system operated (fuel, time). This style is more efficient while executing tasks that require long work with high reliability required according to a detailed protocol, such as orbital flight. Individual style, called "exploratory ", manifested in the search of new ways of task fulfillment. This style is accompanied by partial, periodic lack of control of the conditions and result of operator’s activity due to flexible approach to the tasks perfect implementation. Operators spent less resource (fuel, time, lower physiological "cost") due to high self

  16. Sectorial Group for Incident Analyses (GSAI)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galles, Q.; Gamo, J. M.; Jorda, M.; Sanchez-Garrido, P.; Lopez, F.; Asensio, L.; Reig, J.

    2013-01-01

    In 2008, the UNESA Nuclear Energy Committee (CEN) proposed the creation of a working group formed by experts from all Spanish NPPs with the purpose of jointly analyze relevant incidents occurred in each one of the plants. This initiative was a response to a historical situation in which the exchange of information on incidents between the Spanish NPP's was below the desired level. In june 2009, UNESA's Guide CEN-29 established the performance criteria for the so called Sectorial Group for Incident Analyses (GSAI), whose activity would be coordinated by the UNESA's Group for Incident Analyses (GSAI), whose activity would be coordinated by the UNESA's Group of Operating Experience, under the Operations Commission (COP). (Author)

  17. Pythagorean Fuzzy Muirhead Mean Operators and Their Application in Multiple-Criteria Group Decision-Making

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianghong Zhu

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available As a generalization of the intuitionistic fuzzy set (IFS, a Pythagorean fuzzy set has more flexibility than IFS in expressing uncertainty and fuzziness in the process of multiple criteria group decision-making (MCGDM. Meanwhile, the prominent advantage of the Muirhead mean (MM operator is that it can reflect the relationships among the various input arguments through changing a parameter vector. Motivated by these primary characters, in this study, we introduced the MM operator into the Pythagorean fuzzy context to expand its applied fields. To do so, we presented the Pythagorean fuzzy MM (PFMM operators and Pythagorean fuzzy dual MM (PFDMM operator to fuse the Pythagorean fuzzy information. Then, we investigated their some properties and gave some special cases related to the parameter vector. In addition, based on the developed operators, two MCGDM methods under the Pythagorean fuzzy environment are proposed. An example is given to verify the validity and feasibility of our proposed methods, and a comparative analysis is provided to show their advantages.

  18. Operation and performance of the ATLAS semiconductor tracker

    CERN Document Server

    Aad, Georges; Abdallah, Jalal; Abdel Khalek, Samah; Abdinov, Ovsat; Aben, Rosemarie; Abi, Babak; Abolins, Maris; AbouZeid, Ossama; Abramowicz, Halina; Abreu, Henso; Abreu, Ricardo; Abulaiti, Yiming; Acharya, Bobby Samir; Adamczyk, Leszek; Adams, David; Adelman, Jahred; Adomeit, Stefanie; Adye, Tim; Agatonovic-Jovin, Tatjana; Aguilar-Saavedra, Juan Antonio; Agustoni, Marco; Ahlen, Steven; Ahmad, Ashfaq; Ahmadov, Faig; Aielli, Giulio; Åkesson, Torsten Paul Ake; Akimoto, Ginga; Akimov, Andrei; Alberghi, Gian Luigi; Albert, Justin; Albrand, Solveig; Alconada Verzini, Maria Josefina; Aleksa, Martin; Aleksandrov, Igor; Alexa, Calin; Alexander, Gideon; Alexandre, Gauthier; Alexopoulos, Theodoros; Alhroob, Muhammad; Alimonti, Gianluca; Alio, Lion; Alison, John; Allbrooke, Benedict; Allison, Lee John; Allport, Phillip; Allwood-Spiers, Sarah; Almond, John; Aloisio, Alberto; Alonso, Alejandro; Alonso, Francisco; Alpigiani, Cristiano; Altheimer, Andrew David; Alvarez Gonzalez, Barbara; Alviggi, Mariagrazia; Amako, Katsuya; Amaral Coutinho, Yara; Amelung, Christoph; Amidei, Dante; Amor Dos Santos, Susana Patricia; Amorim, Antonio; Amoroso, Simone; Amram, Nir; Amundsen, Glenn; Anastopoulos, Christos; Ancu, Lucian Stefan; Andari, Nansi; Andeen, Timothy; Anders, Christoph Falk; Anders, Gabriel; Anderson, Kelby; Andreazza, Attilio; Andrei, George Victor; Anduaga, Xabier; Angelidakis, Stylianos; Angelozzi, Ivan; Anger, Philipp; Angerami, Aaron; Anghinolfi, Francis; Anisenkov, Alexey; Anjos, Nuno; Annovi, Alberto; Antonaki, Ariadni; Antonelli, Mario; Antonov, Alexey; Antos, Jaroslav; Anulli, Fabio; Aoki, Masato; Aperio Bella, Ludovica; Apolle, Rudi; Arabidze, Giorgi; Aracena, Ignacio; Arai, Yasuo; Araque, Juan Pedro; Arce, Ayana; Arguin, Jean-Francois; Argyropoulos, Spyridon; Arik, Metin; Armbruster, Aaron James; Arnaez, Olivier; Arnal, Vanessa; Arnold, Hannah; Arslan, Ozan; Artamonov, Andrei; Artoni, Giacomo; Asai, Shoji; Asbah, Nedaa; Ashkenazi, Adi; Ask, Stefan; Åsman, Barbro; Asquith, Lily; Assamagan, Ketevi; Astalos, Robert; Atkinson, Markus; Atlay, Naim Bora; Auerbach, Benjamin; Augsten, Kamil; Aurousseau, Mathieu; Avolio, Giuseppe; Azuelos, Georges; Azuma, Yuya; Baak, Max; Bacci, Cesare; Bachacou, Henri; Bachas, Konstantinos; Backes, Moritz; Backhaus, Malte; Backus Mayes, John; Badescu, Elisabeta; Bagiacchi, Paolo; Bagnaia, Paolo; Bai, Yu; Bain, Travis; Baines, John; Baker, Oliver Keith; Baker, Sarah; Balek, Petr; Balli, Fabrice; Banas, Elzbieta; Banerjee, Swagato; Banfi, Danilo; Bangert, Andrea Michelle; Bannoura, Arwa A E; Bansal, Vikas; Bansil, Hardeep Singh; Barak, Liron; Baranov, Sergei; Barberio, Elisabetta Luigia; Barberis, Dario; Barbero, Marlon; Barillari, Teresa; Barisonzi, Marcello; Barklow, Timothy; Barlow, Nick; Barnett, Bruce; Barnett, Michael; Barnovska, Zuzana; Baroncelli, Antonio; Barone, Gaetano; Barr, Alan; Barreiro, Fernando; Barreiro Guimarães da Costa, João; Bartoldus, Rainer; Barton, Adam Edward; Bartos, Pavol; Bartsch, Valeria; Bassalat, Ahmed; Basye, Austin; Bates, Richard; Batkova, Lucia; Batley, Richard; Battistin, Michele; Bauer, Florian; Bawa, Harinder Singh; Beau, Tristan; Beauchemin, Pierre-Hugues; Beccherle, Roberto; Bechtle, Philip; Beck, Hans Peter; Becker, Anne Kathrin; Becker, Sebastian; Beckingham, Matthew; Becot, Cyril; Beddall, Andrew; Beddall, Ayda; Bedikian, Sourpouhi; Bednyakov, Vadim; Bee, Christopher; Beemster, Lars; Beermann, Thomas; Begel, Michael; Behr, Katharina; Belanger-Champagne, Camille; Bell, Paul; Bell, William; Bella, Gideon; Bellagamba, Lorenzo; Bellerive, Alain; Bellomo, Massimiliano; Belloni, Alberto; Belotskiy, Konstantin; Beltramello, Olga; Benary, Odette; Benchekroun, Driss; Bendtz, Katarina; Benekos, Nektarios; Benhammou, Yan; Benhar Noccioli, Eleonora; Benitez Garcia, Jorge-Armando; Benjamin, Douglas; Bensinger, James; Benslama, Kamal; Bentvelsen, Stan; Berge, David; Bergeaas Kuutmann, Elin; Berger, Nicolas; Berghaus, Frank; Berglund, Elina; Beringer, Jürg; Bernabéu, José; Bernard, Clare; Bernat, Pauline; Bernius, Catrin; Bernlochner, Florian Urs; Berry, Tracey; Berta, Peter; Bertella, Claudia; Bertolucci, Federico; Besana, Maria Ilaria; Besjes, Geert-Jan; Bessidskaia, Olga; Besson, Nathalie; Betancourt, Christopher; Bethke, Siegfried; Bhimji, Wahid; Bianchi, Riccardo-Maria; Bianchini, Louis; Bianco, Michele; Biebel, Otmar; Bieniek, Stephen Paul; Bierwagen, Katharina; Biesiada, Jed; Biglietti, Michela; Bilbao De Mendizabal, Javier; Bilokon, Halina; Bindi, Marcello; Binet, Sebastien; Bingul, Ahmet; Bini, Cesare; Black, Curtis; Black, James; Black, Kevin; Blackburn, Daniel; Blair, Robert; Blanchard, Jean-Baptiste; Blazek, Tomas; Bloch, Ingo; Blocker, Craig; Blum, Walter; Blumenschein, Ulrike; Bobbink, Gerjan; Bobrovnikov, Victor; Bocchetta, Simona Serena; Bocci, Andrea; Boddy, Christopher Richard; Boehler, Michael; Boek, Jennifer; Boek, Thorsten Tobias; Bogaerts, Joannes Andreas; Bogdanchikov, Alexander; Bogouch, Andrei; Bohm, Christian; Bohm, Jan; Boisvert, Veronique; Bold, Tomasz; Boldea, Venera; Boldyrev, Alexey; Bomben, Marco; Bona, Marcella; Boonekamp, Maarten; Borisov, Anatoly; Borissov, Guennadi; Borri, Marcello; Borroni, Sara; Bortfeldt, Jonathan; Bortolotto, Valerio; Bos, Kors; Boscherini, Davide; Bosman, Martine; Boterenbrood, Hendrik; Boudreau, Joseph; Bouffard, Julian; Bouhova-Thacker, Evelina Vassileva; Boumediene, Djamel Eddine; Bourdarios, Claire; Bousson, Nicolas; Boutouil, Sara; Boveia, Antonio; Boyd, James; Boyko, Igor; Bozovic-Jelisavcic, Ivanka; Bracinik, Juraj; Branchini, Paolo; Brandt, Andrew; Brandt, Gerhard; Brandt, Oleg; Bratzler, Uwe; Brau, Benjamin; Brau, James; Braun, Helmut; Brazzale, Simone Federico; Brelier, Bertrand; Brendlinger, Kurt; Brennan, Amelia Jean; Brenner, Richard; Bressler, Shikma; Bristow, Kieran; Bristow, Timothy Michael; Britton, Dave; Brochu, Frederic; Brock, Ian; Brock, Raymond; Bromberg, Carl; Bronner, Johanna; Brooijmans, Gustaaf; Brooks, Timothy; Brooks, William; Brosamer, Jacquelyn; Brost, Elizabeth; Brown, Gareth; Brown, Jonathan; Bruckman de Renstrom, Pawel; Bruncko, Dusan; Bruneliere, Renaud; Brunet, Sylvie; Bruni, Alessia; Bruni, Graziano; Bruschi, Marco; Bryngemark, Lene; Buanes, Trygve; Buat, Quentin; Bucci, Francesca; Buchholz, Peter; Buckingham, Ryan; Buckley, Andrew; Buda, Stelian Ioan; Budagov, Ioulian; Buehrer, Felix; Bugge, Lars; Bugge, Magnar Kopangen; Bulekov, Oleg; Bundock, Aaron Colin; Burckhart, Helfried; Burdin, Sergey; Burghgrave, Blake; Burke, Stephen; Burmeister, Ingo; Busato, Emmanuel; Büscher, Daniel; Büscher, Volker; Bussey, Peter; Buszello, Claus-Peter; Butler, Bart; Butler, John; Butt, Aatif Imtiaz; Buttar, Craig; Butterworth, Jonathan; Butti, Pierfrancesco; Buttinger, William; Buzatu, Adrian; Byszewski, Marcin; Cabrera Urbán, Susana; Caforio, Davide; Cakir, Orhan; Calafiura, Paolo; Calandri, Alessandro; Calderini, Giovanni; Calfayan, Philippe; Calkins, Robert; Caloba, Luiz; Calvet, David; Calvet, Samuel; Camacho Toro, Reina; Camarda, Stefano; Cameron, David; Caminada, Lea Michaela; Caminal Armadans, Roger; Campana, Simone; Campanelli, Mario; Campoverde, Angel; Canale, Vincenzo; Canepa, Anadi; Cantero, Josu; Cantrill, Robert; Cao, Tingting; Capeans Garrido, Maria Del Mar; Caprini, Irinel; Caprini, Mihai; Capua, Marcella; Caputo, Regina; Cardarelli, Roberto; Carli, Tancredi; Carlino, Gianpaolo; Carminati, Leonardo; Caron, Sascha; Carquin, Edson; Carrillo-Montoya, German D; Carter, Antony; Carter, Janet; Carvalho, João; Casadei, Diego; Casado, Maria Pilar; Castaneda-Miranda, Elizabeth; Castelli, Angelantonio; Castillo Gimenez, Victoria; Castro, Nuno Filipe; Catastini, Pierluigi; Catinaccio, Andrea; Catmore, James; Cattai, Ariella; Cattani, Giordano; Caughron, Seth; Cavaliere, Viviana; Cavalli, Donatella; Cavalli-Sforza, Matteo; Cavasinni, Vincenzo; Ceradini, Filippo; Cerio, Benjamin; Cerny, Karel; Santiago Cerqueira, Augusto; Cerri, Alessandro; Cerrito, Lucio; Cerutti, Fabio; Cerv, Matevz; Cervelli, Alberto; Cetin, Serkant Ali; Chafaq, Aziz; Chakraborty, Dhiman; Chalupkova, Ina; Chan, Kevin; Chang, Philip; Chapleau, Bertrand; Chapman, John Derek; Charfeddine, Driss; Charlton, Dave; Chau, Chav Chhiv; Chavez Barajas, Carlos Alberto; Cheatham, Susan; Chegwidden, Andrew; Chekanov, Sergei; Chekulaev, Sergey; Chelkov, Gueorgui; Chelstowska, Magda Anna; Chen, Chunhui; Chen, Hucheng; Chen, Karen; Chen, Liming; Chen, Shenjian; Chen, Xin; Chen, Yujiao; Cheng, Hok Chuen; Cheng, Yangyang; Cheplakov, Alexander; Cherkaoui El Moursli, Rajaa; Chernyatin, Valeriy; Cheu, Elliott; Chevalier, Laurent; Chiarella, Vitaliano; Chiefari, Giovanni; Childers, John Taylor; Chilingarov, Alexandre; Chiodini, Gabriele; Chisholm, Andrew; Chislett, Rebecca Thalatta; Chitan, Adrian; Chizhov, Mihail; Chouridou, Sofia; Chow, Bonnie Kar Bo; Christidi, Ilektra-Athanasia; Chromek-Burckhart, Doris; Chu, Ming-Lee; Chudoba, Jiri; Chwastowski, Janusz; Chytka, Ladislav; Ciapetti, Guido; Ciftci, Abbas Kenan; Ciftci, Rena; Cinca, Diane; Cindro, Vladimir; Ciocio, Alessandra; Cirkovic, Predrag; Citron, Zvi Hirsh; Citterio, Mauro; Ciubancan, Mihai; Clark, Allan G; Clark, Philip James; Clarke, Robert; Cleland, Bill; Clemens, Jean-Claude; Clement, Christophe; Coadou, Yann; Cobal, Marina; Coccaro, Andrea; Cochran, James H; Coffey, Laurel; Cogan, Joshua Godfrey; Coggeshall, James; Cole, Brian; Cole, Stephen; Colijn, Auke-Pieter; Collins-Tooth, Christopher; Collot, Johann; Colombo, Tommaso; Colon, German; Compostella, Gabriele; Conde Muiño, Patricia; Coniavitis, Elias; Conidi, Maria Chiara; Connell, Simon Henry; Connelly, Ian; Consonni, Sofia Maria; Consorti, Valerio; Constantinescu, Serban; Conta, Claudio; Conti, Geraldine; Conventi, Francesco; Cooke, Mark; Cooper, Ben; Cooper-Sarkar, Amanda; Cooper-Smith, Neil; Copic, Katherine; Cornelissen, Thijs; Corradi, Massimo; Corriveau, Francois; Corso-Radu, Alina; Cortes-Gonzalez, Arely; Cortiana, Giorgio; Costa, Giuseppe; Costa, María José; Costanzo, Davide; Côté, David; Cottin, Giovanna; Cowan, Glen; Cox, Brian; Cranmer, Kyle; Cree, Graham; Crépé-Renaudin, Sabine; Crescioli, Francesco; Crispin Ortuzar, Mireia; Cristinziani, Markus; Croft, Vince; Crosetti, Giovanni; Cuciuc, Constantin-Mihai; Cuenca Almenar, Cristóbal; Cuhadar Donszelmann, Tulay; Cummings, Jane; Curatolo, Maria; Cuthbert, Cameron; Czirr, Hendrik; Czodrowski, Patrick; Czyczula, Zofia; D'Auria, Saverio; D'Onofrio, Monica; Da Cunha Sargedas De Sousa, Mario Jose; Da Via, Cinzia; Dabrowski, Wladyslaw; Dafinca, Alexandru; Dai, Tiesheng; Dale, Orjan; Dallaire, Frederick; Dallapiccola, Carlo; Dam, Mogens; Daniells, Andrew Christopher; Dano Hoffmann, Maria; Dao, Valerio; Darbo, Giovanni; Darlea, Georgiana Lavinia; Darmora, Smita; Dassoulas, James; Dattagupta, Aparajita; Davey, Will; David, Claire; Davidek, Tomas; Davies, Eleanor; Davies, Merlin; Davignon, Olivier; Davison, Adam; Davison, Peter; Davygora, Yuriy; Dawe, Edmund; Dawson, Ian; Daya-Ishmukhametova, Rozmin; De, Kaushik; de Asmundis, Riccardo; De Castro, Stefano; De Cecco, Sandro; de Graat, Julien; De Groot, Nicolo; de Jong, Paul; 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Di Nardo, Roberto; Di Simone, Andrea; Di Sipio, Riccardo; Di Valentino, David; Diaz, Marco Aurelio; Diehl, Edward; Dietrich, Janet; Dietzsch, Thorsten; Diglio, Sara; Dimitrievska, Aleksandra; Dingfelder, Jochen; Dionisi, Carlo; Dita, Petre; Dita, Sanda; Dittus, Fridolin; Djama, Fares; Djobava, Tamar; Barros do Vale, Maria Aline; Do Valle Wemans, André; Doan, Thi Kieu Oanh; Dobos, Daniel; Dobson, Ellie; Doglioni, Caterina; Doherty, Tom; Dohmae, Takeshi; Dolejsi, Jiri; Dolezal, Zdenek; Dolgoshein, Boris; Donadelli, Marisilvia; Donati, Simone; Dondero, Paolo; Donini, Julien; Dopke, Jens; Doria, Alessandra; Dos Anjos, Andre; Dova, Maria-Teresa; Doyle, Tony; Dris, Manolis; Dubbert, Jörg; Dube, Sourabh; Dubreuil, Emmanuelle; Duchovni, Ehud; Duckeck, Guenter; Ducu, Otilia Anamaria; Duda, Dominik; Dudarev, Alexey; Dudziak, Fanny; Duflot, Laurent; Duguid, Liam; Dührssen, Michael; Dunford, Monica; Duran Yildiz, Hatice; Düren, Michael; Durglishvili, Archil; Dwuznik, Michal; Dyndal, Mateusz; Ebke, Johannes; Edson, William; Edwards, Nicholas Charles; Ehrenfeld, Wolfgang; Eifert, Till; Eigen, Gerald; Einsweiler, Kevin; Ekelof, Tord; El Kacimi, Mohamed; Ellert, Mattias; Elles, Sabine; Ellinghaus, Frank; Ellis, Nicolas; Elmsheuser, Johannes; Elsing, Markus; Emeliyanov, Dmitry; Enari, Yuji; Endner, Oliver Chris; Endo, Masaki; Engelmann, Roderich; Erdmann, Johannes; Ereditato, Antonio; Eriksson, Daniel; Ernis, Gunar; Ernst, Jesse; Ernst, Michael; Ernwein, Jean; Errede, Deborah; Errede, Steven; Ertel, Eugen; Escalier, Marc; Esch, Hendrik; Escobar, Carlos; Esposito, Bellisario; Etienvre, Anne-Isabelle; Etzion, Erez; Evans, Hal; Fabbri, Laura; Facini, Gabriel; Fakhrutdinov, Rinat; Falciano, Speranza; Faltova, Jana; Fang, Yaquan; Fanti, Marcello; Farbin, Amir; Farilla, Addolorata; Farooque, Trisha; Farrell, Steven; Farrington, Sinead; Farthouat, Philippe; Fassi, Farida; Fassnacht, Patrick; Fassouliotis, Dimitrios; Favareto, Andrea; Fayard, Louis; Federic, Pavol; Fedin, Oleg; Fedorko, Wojciech; Fehling-Kaschek, Mirjam; Feigl, Simon; Feligioni, Lorenzo; Feng, Cunfeng; Feng, Eric; Feng, Haolu; Fenyuk, Alexander; Fernandez Perez, Sonia; Ferrag, Samir; Ferrando, James; Ferrari, Arnaud; Ferrari, Pamela; Ferrari, Roberto; Ferreira de Lima, Danilo Enoque; Ferrer, Antonio; Ferrere, Didier; Ferretti, Claudio; Ferretto Parodi, Andrea; Fiascaris, Maria; Fiedler, Frank; Filipčič, Andrej; Filipuzzi, Marco; Filthaut, Frank; Fincke-Keeler, Margret; Finelli, Kevin Daniel; Fiolhais, Miguel; Fiorini, Luca; Firan, Ana; Fischer, Julia; Fisher, Wade Cameron; Fitzgerald, Eric Andrew; Flechl, Martin; Fleck, Ivor; Fleischmann, Philipp; Fleischmann, Sebastian; Fletcher, Gareth Thomas; Fletcher, Gregory; Flick, Tobias; Floderus, Anders; Flores Castillo, Luis; Florez Bustos, Andres Carlos; Flowerdew, Michael; Formica, Andrea; Forti, Alessandra; Fortin, Dominique; Fournier, Daniel; Fox, Harald; Fracchia, Silvia; Francavilla, Paolo; Franchini, Matteo; Franchino, Silvia; Francis, David; Franklin, Melissa; Franz, Sebastien; Fraternali, Marco; French, Sky; Friedrich, Conrad; Friedrich, Felix; Froidevaux, Daniel; Frost, James; Fukunaga, Chikara; Fullana Torregrosa, Esteban; Fulsom, Bryan Gregory; Fuster, Juan; Gabaldon, Carolina; Gabizon, Ofir; Gabrielli, Alessandro; Gabrielli, Andrea; Gadatsch, Stefan; Gadomski, Szymon; Gagliardi, Guido; Gagnon, Pauline; Galea, Cristina; Galhardo, Bruno; Gallas, Elizabeth; Gallo, Valentina Santina; Gallop, Bruce; Gallus, Petr; Galster, Gorm Aske Gram Krohn; Gan, KK; Gandrajula, Reddy Pratap; Gao, Jun; Gao, Yongsheng; Garay Walls, Francisca; Garberson, Ford; García, Carmen; Garcia Argos, Carlos; García Navarro, José Enrique; Garcia-Sciveres, Maurice; Gardner, Robert; Garelli, Nicoletta; Garonne, Vincent; Gatti, Claudio; Gaudio, Gabriella; Gaur, Bakul; Gauthier, Lea; Gauzzi, Paolo; Gavrilenko, Igor; Gay, Colin; Gaycken, Goetz; Gazis, Evangelos; Ge, Peng; Gecse, Zoltan; Gee, Norman; Geerts, Daniël Alphonsus Adrianus; Geich-Gimbel, Christoph; Gellerstedt, Karl; Gemme, Claudia; Gemmell, Alistair; Genest, Marie-Hélène; Gentile, Simonetta; George, Matthias; George, Simon; Gerbaudo, Davide; Gershon, Avi; Ghazlane, Hamid; Ghodbane, Nabil; Giacobbe, Benedetto; Giagu, Stefano; Giangiobbe, Vincent; Giannetti, Paola; Gianotti, Fabiola; Gibbard, Bruce; Gibson, Stephen; Gilchriese, Murdock; Gillam, Thomas; Gillberg, Dag; Gilles, Geoffrey; Gingrich, Douglas; Giokaris, Nikos; Giordani, MarioPaolo; Giordano, Raffaele; Giorgi, Francesco Michelangelo; Giraud, Pierre-Francois; Giugni, Danilo; Giuliani, Claudia; Giulini, Maddalena; Gjelsten, Børge Kile; Gkialas, Ioannis; Gladilin, Leonid; Glasman, Claudia; Glatzer, Julian; Glaysher, Paul; Glazov, Alexandre; Glonti, George; Goblirsch-Kolb, Maximilian; Goddard, Jack Robert; Godfrey, Jennifer; Godlewski, Jan; Goeringer, Christian; Goldfarb, Steven; Golling, Tobias; Golubkov, Dmitry; Gomes, Agostinho; Gomez Fajardo, Luz Stella; Gonçalo, Ricardo; Goncalves Pinto Firmino Da Costa, Joao; Gonella, Laura; González de la Hoz, Santiago; Gonzalez Parra, Garoe; Gonzalez Silva, Laura; Gonzalez-Sevilla, Sergio; Goodrick, Maurice; Goossens, Luc; Gorbounov, Petr Andreevich; Gordon, Howard; Gorelov, Igor; Gorfine, Grant; Gorini, Benedetto; Gorini, Edoardo; Gorišek, Andrej; Gornicki, Edward; Goshaw, Alfred; Gössling, Claus; Gostkin, Mikhail Ivanovitch; Gouighri, Mohamed; Goujdami, Driss; Goulette, Marc Phillippe; Goussiou, Anna; Goy, Corinne; Gozpinar, Serdar; Grabas, Herve Marie Xavier; Graber, Lars; Grabowska-Bold, Iwona; Grafström, Per; Grahn, Karl-Johan; Gramling, Johanna; Gramstad, Eirik; Grancagnolo, Sergio; Grassi, Valerio; Gratchev, Vadim; Gray, Heather; Graziani, Enrico; Grebenyuk, Oleg; Greenwood, Zeno Dixon; Gregersen, Kristian; Gregor, Ingrid-Maria; Grenier, Philippe; Griffiths, Justin; Grigalashvili, Nugzar; Grillo, Alexander; Grimm, Kathryn; Grinstein, Sebastian; Gris, Philippe Luc Yves; Grishkevich, Yaroslav; Grivaz, Jean-Francois; Grohs, Johannes Philipp; Grohsjean, Alexander; Gross, Eilam; Grosse-Knetter, Joern; Grossi, Giulio Cornelio; Groth-Jensen, Jacob; Grout, Zara Jane; Grybel, Kai; Guan, Liang; Guescini, Francesco; Guest, Daniel; Gueta, Orel; Guicheney, Christophe; Guido, Elisa; Guillemin, Thibault; Guindon, Stefan; Gul, Umar; Gumpert, Christian; Gunther, Jaroslav; Guo, Jun; Gupta, Shaun; Gutierrez, Phillip; Gutierrez Ortiz, Nicolas Gilberto; Gutschow, Christian; Guttman, Nir; Guyot, Claude; Gwenlan, Claire; Gwilliam, Carl; Haas, Andy; Haber, Carl; Hadavand, Haleh Khani; Haddad, Nacim; Haefner, Petra; Hageboeck, Stephan; Hajduk, Zbigniew; Hakobyan, Hrachya; Haleem, Mahsana; Hall, David; Halladjian, Garabed; Hamacher, Klaus; Hamal, Petr; Hamano, Kenji; Hamer, Matthias; Hamilton, Andrew; Hamilton, Samuel; Hamnett, Phillip George; Han, Liang; Hanagaki, Kazunori; Hanawa, Keita; Hance, Michael; Hanke, Paul; Hansen, Jørgen Beck; Hansen, Jorn Dines; Hansen, Peter Henrik; Hara, Kazuhiko; Hard, Andrew; Harenberg, Torsten; Harkusha, Siarhei; Harper, Devin; Harrington, Robert; Harris, Orin; Harrison, Paul Fraser; Hartjes, Fred; Hasegawa, Satoshi; Hasegawa, Yoji; Hasib, A; Hassani, Samira; Haug, Sigve; Hauschild, Michael; Hauser, Reiner; Havranek, Miroslav; Hawkes, Christopher; Hawkings, Richard John; Hawkins, Anthony David; Hayashi, Takayasu; Hayden, Daniel; Hays, Chris; Hayward, Helen; Haywood, Stephen; Head, Simon; Heck, Tobias; Hedberg, Vincent; Heelan, Louise; Heim, Sarah; Heim, Timon; Heinemann, Beate; Heinrich, Lukas; Heisterkamp, Simon; Hejbal, Jiri; Helary, Louis; Heller, Claudio; Heller, Matthieu; Hellman, Sten; Hellmich, Dennis; Helsens, Clement; Henderson, James; Henderson, Robert; Hengler, Christopher; Henrichs, Anna; Henriques Correia, Ana Maria; Henrot-Versille, Sophie; Hensel, Carsten; Herbert, Geoffrey Henry; Hernández Jiménez, Yesenia; Herrberg-Schubert, Ruth; Herten, Gregor; Hertenberger, Ralf; Hervas, Luis; Hesketh, Gavin Grant; Hessey, Nigel; Hickling, Robert; Higón-Rodriguez, Emilio; Hill, Ewan; Hill, John; Hiller, Karl Heinz; Hillert, Sonja; Hillier, Stephen; Hinchliffe, Ian; Hines, Elizabeth; Hirose, Minoru; Hirschbuehl, Dominic; Hobbs, John; Hod, Noam; Hodgkinson, Mark; Hodgson, Paul; Hoecker, Andreas; Hoeferkamp, Martin; Hoffman, Julia; Hoffmann, Dirk; Hofmann, Julia Isabell; Hohlfeld, Marc; Holmes, Tova Ray; Hong, Tae Min; Hooft van Huysduynen, Loek; Hostachy, Jean-Yves; Hou, Suen; Hoummada, Abdeslam; Howard, Jacob; Howarth, James; Hrabovsky, Miroslav; Hristova, Ivana; Hrivnac, Julius; Hryn'ova, Tetiana; Hsu, Pai-hsien Jennifer; Hsu, Shih-Chieh; Hu, Diedi; Hu, Xueye; Huang, Yanping; Hubacek, Zdenek; Hubaut, Fabrice; Huegging, Fabian; Huffman, Todd Brian; Hughes, Emlyn; Hughes, Gareth; Huhtinen, Mika; Hülsing, Tobias Alexander; Hurwitz, Martina; Huseynov, Nazim; Huston, Joey; Huth, John; Iacobucci, Giuseppe; Iakovidis, Georgios; Ibragimov, Iskander; Iconomidou-Fayard, Lydia; Idarraga, John; Ideal, Emma; Iengo, Paolo; Igonkina, Olga; Iizawa, Tomoya; Ikegami, Yoichi; Ikematsu, Katsumasa; Ikeno, Masahiro; Iliadis, Dimitrios; Ilic, Nikolina; Inamaru, Yuki; Ince, Tayfun; Ioannou, Pavlos; Iodice, Mauro; Iordanidou, Kalliopi; Ippolito, Valerio; Irles Quiles, Adrian; Isaksson, Charlie; Ishino, Masaya; Ishitsuka, Masaki; Ishmukhametov, Renat; Issever, Cigdem; Istin, Serhat; Iturbe Ponce, Julia Mariana; Ivarsson, Jenny; Ivashin, Anton; Iwanski, Wieslaw; Iwasaki, Hiroyuki; Izen, Joseph; Izzo, Vincenzo; Jackson, Brett; Jackson, John; Jackson, Matthew; Jackson, Paul; Jaekel, Martin; Jain, Vivek; Jakobs, Karl; Jakobsen, Sune; Jakoubek, Tomas; Jakubek, Jan; Jamin, David Olivier; Jana, Dilip; Jansen, Eric; Jansen, Hendrik; Janssen, Jens; Janus, Michel; Jarlskog, Göran; Javadov, Namig; Javůrek, Tomáš; Jeanty, Laura; Jeng, Geng-yuan; Jennens, David; Jenni, Peter; Jentzsch, Jennifer; Jeske, Carl; Jézéquel, Stéphane; Ji, Haoshuang; Ji, Weina; Jia, Jiangyong; Jiang, Yi; Jimenez Belenguer, Marcos; Jin, Shan; Jinaru, Adam; Jinnouchi, Osamu; Joergensen, Morten Dam; Johansson, Erik; Johansson, Per; Johns, Kenneth; Jon-And, Kerstin; Jones, Graham; Jones, Roger; Jones, Tim; Jongmanns, Jan; Jorge, Pedro; Joseph, John; Joshi, Kiran Daniel; Jovicevic, Jelena; Ju, Xiangyang; Jung, Christian; Jungst, Ralph Markus; Jussel, Patrick; Juste Rozas, Aurelio; Kaci, Mohammed; Kaczmarska, Anna; Kado, Marumi; Kagan, Harris; Kagan, Michael; Kajomovitz, Enrique; Kama, Sami; Kanaya, Naoko; Kaneda, Michiru; Kaneti, Steven; Kanno, Takayuki; Kantserov, Vadim; Kanzaki, Junichi; Kaplan, Benjamin; Kapliy, Anton; Kar, Deepak; Karakostas, Konstantinos; Karastathis, Nikolaos; Karnevskiy, Mikhail; Karpov, Sergey; Karthik, Krishnaiyengar; Kartvelishvili, Vakhtang; Karyukhin, Andrey; Kashif, Lashkar; Kasieczka, Gregor; Kass, Richard; Kastanas, Alex; Kataoka, Yousuke; Katre, Akshay; Katzy, Judith; Kaushik, Venkatesh; Kawagoe, Kiyotomo; Kawamoto, Tatsuo; Kawamura, Gen; Kazama, Shingo; Kazanin, Vassili; Kazarinov, Makhail; Keeler, Richard; Keener, Paul; Kehoe, Robert; Keil, Markus; Keller, John; Keoshkerian, Houry; Kepka, Oldrich; Kerševan, Borut Paul; Kersten, Susanne; Kessoku, Kohei; Keung, Justin; Khalil-zada, Farkhad; Khandanyan, Hovhannes; Khanov, Alexander; Khodinov, Alexander; Khomich, Andrei; Khoo, Teng Jian; Khoriauli, Gia; Khoroshilov, Andrey; Khovanskiy, Valery; Khramov, Evgeniy; Khubua, Jemal; Kim, Hee Yeun; Kim, Hyeon Jin; Kim, Shinhong; Kimura, Naoki; Kind, Oliver; King, Barry; King, Matthew; King, Robert Steven Beaufoy; King, Samuel Burton; Kirk, Julie; Kiryunin, Andrey; Kishimoto, Tomoe; Kisielewska, Danuta; Kiss, Florian; Kitamura, Takumi; Kittelmann, Thomas; Kiuchi, Kenji; Kladiva, Eduard; Klein, Max; Klein, Uta; Kleinknecht, Konrad; Klimek, Pawel; Klimentov, Alexei; Klingenberg, Reiner; Klinger, Joel Alexander; Klioutchnikova, Tatiana; Klok, Peter; Kluge, Eike-Erik; Kluit, Peter; Kluth, Stefan; Kneringer, Emmerich; Knoops, Edith; Knue, Andrea; Kobayashi, Tomio; Kobel, Michael; Kocian, Martin; Kodys, Peter; Koevesarki, Peter; Koffas, Thomas; Koffeman, Els; Kogan, Lucy Anne; Kohlmann, Simon; Kohout, Zdenek; Kohriki, Takashi; Koi, Tatsumi; Kolanoski, Hermann; Koletsou, Iro; Koll, James; Komar, Aston; Komori, Yuto; Kondo, Takahiko; Kondrashova, Nataliia; Köneke, Karsten; König, Adriaan; König, Sebastian; Kono, Takanori; Konoplich, Rostislav; Konstantinidis, Nikolaos; Kopeliansky, Revital; Koperny, Stefan; Köpke, Lutz; Kopp, Anna Katharina; Korcyl, Krzysztof; Kordas, Kostantinos; Korn, Andreas; Korol, Aleksandr; Korolkov, Ilya; Korolkova, Elena; Korotkov, Vladislav; Kortner, Oliver; Kortner, Sandra; Kostyukhin, Vadim; Kotov, Sergey; Kotov, Vladislav; Kotwal, Ashutosh; Kourkoumelis, Christine; Kouskoura, Vasiliki; Koutsman, Alex; Kowalewski, Robert Victor; Kowalski, Tadeusz; Kozanecki, Witold; Kozhin, Anatoly; Kral, Vlastimil; Kramarenko, Viktor; Kramberger, Gregor; Krasnopevtsev, Dimitriy; Krasny, Mieczyslaw Witold; Krasznahorkay, Attila; Kraus, Jana; Kravchenko, Anton; Kreiss, Sven; Kretz, Moritz; Kretzschmar, Jan; Kreutzfeldt, Kristof; Krieger, Peter; Kroeninger, Kevin; Kroha, Hubert; Kroll, Joe; Kroseberg, Juergen; Krstic, Jelena; Kruchonak, Uladzimir; Krüger, Hans; Kruker, Tobias; Krumnack, Nils; Krumshteyn, Zinovii; Kruse, Amanda; Kruse, Mark; Kruskal, Michael; Kubik, Petr; Kubota, Takashi; Kuday, Sinan; Kuehn, Susanne; Kugel, Andreas; Kuhl, Andrew; Kuhl, Thorsten; Kukhtin, Victor; Kulchitsky, Yuri; Kuleshov, Sergey; Kuna, Marine; Kunkle, Joshua; Kupco, Alexander; Kurashige, Hisaya; Kurochkin, Yurii; Kurumida, Rie; Kus, Vlastimil; Kuwertz, Emma Sian; Kuze, Masahiro; Kvita, Jiri; La Rosa, Alessandro; La Rotonda, Laura; Lacasta, Carlos; Lacava, Francesco; Lacey, James; Lacker, Heiko; Lacour, Didier; Lacuesta, Vicente Ramón; Ladygin, Evgueni; Lafaye, Remi; Laforge, Bertrand; Lagouri, Theodota; Lai, Stanley; Laier, Heiko; Lambourne, Luke; Lammers, Sabine; Lampen, Caleb; Lampl, Walter; Lançon, Eric; Landgraf, Ulrich; Landon, Murrough; Lang, Valerie Susanne; Lange, Clemens; Lankford, Andrew; Lanni, Francesco; Lantzsch, Kerstin; Laplace, Sandrine; Lapoire, Cecile; Laporte, Jean-Francois; Lari, Tommaso; Lassnig, Mario; Laurelli, Paolo; Lavrijsen, Wim; Law, Alexander; Laycock, Paul; Le, Bao Tran; Le Dortz, Olivier; Le Guirriec, Emmanuel; Le Menedeu, Eve; LeCompte, Thomas; Ledroit-Guillon, Fabienne Agnes Marie; Lee, Claire Alexandra; Lee, Hurng-Chun; Lee, Jason; Lee, Shih-Chang; Lee, Lawrence; Lefebvre, Guillaume; Lefebvre, Michel; Legger, Federica; Leggett, Charles; Lehan, Allan; Lehmacher, Marc; Lehmann Miotto, Giovanna; Lei, Xiaowen; Leister, Andrew Gerard; Leite, Marco Aurelio Lisboa; Leitner, Rupert; Lellouch, Daniel; Lemmer, Boris; Leney, Katharine; Lenz, Tatjana; Lenzen, Georg; Lenzi, Bruno; Leone, Robert; Leonhardt, Kathrin; Leontsinis, Stefanos; Leroy, Claude; Lester, Christopher; Lester, Christopher Michael; Levchenko, Mikhail; Levêque, Jessica; Levin, Daniel; Levinson, Lorne; Levy, Mark; Lewis, Adrian; Lewis, George; Leyko, Agnieszka; Leyton, Michael; Li, Bing; Li, Bo; Li, Haifeng; Li, Ho Ling; Li, Liang; Li, Shu; Li, Yichen; Liang, Zhijun; Liao, Hongbo; Liberti, Barbara; Lichard, Peter; Lie, Ki; Liebal, Jessica; Liebig, Wolfgang; Limbach, Christian; Limosani, Antonio; Limper, Maaike; Lin, Simon; Linde, Frank; Lindquist, Brian Edward; Linnemann, James; Lipeles, Elliot; Lipniacka, Anna; Lisovyi, Mykhailo; Liss, Tony; Lissauer, David; Lister, Alison; Litke, Alan; Liu, Bo; Liu, Dong; Liu, Jianbei; Liu, Kun; Liu, Lulu; Liu, Miaoyuan; Liu, Minghui; Liu, Yanwen; Livan, Michele; Livermore, Sarah; Lleres, Annick; Llorente Merino, Javier; Lloyd, Stephen; Lo Sterzo, Francesco; Lobodzinska, Ewelina; Loch, Peter; Lockman, William; Loddenkoetter, Thomas; Loebinger, Fred; Loevschall-Jensen, Ask Emil; Loginov, Andrey; Loh, Chang Wei; Lohse, Thomas; Lohwasser, Kristin; Lokajicek, Milos; Lombardo, Vincenzo Paolo; Long, Brian Alexander; Long, Jonathan; Long, Robin Eamonn; Lopes, Lourenco; Lopez Mateos, David; Lopez Paredes, Brais; Lorenz, Jeanette; Lorenzo Martinez, Narei; Losada, Marta; Loscutoff, Peter; Lou, XinChou; Lounis, Abdenour; Love, Jeremy; Love, Peter; Lowe, Andrew; Lu, Feng; Lubatti, Henry; Luci, Claudio; Lucotte, Arnaud; Luehring, Frederick; Lukas, Wolfgang; Luminari, Lamberto; Lundberg, Olof; Lund-Jensen, Bengt; Lungwitz, Matthias; Lynn, David; Lysak, Roman; Lytken, Else; Ma, Hong; Ma, Lian Liang; Maccarrone, Giovanni; Macchiolo, Anna; Machado Miguens, Joana; Macina, Daniela; Madaffari, Daniele; Madar, Romain; Maddocks, Harvey Jonathan; Mader, Wolfgang; Madsen, Alexander; Maeno, Mayuko; Maeno, Tadashi; Magradze, Erekle; Mahboubi, Kambiz; Mahlstedt, Joern; Mahmoud, Sara; Maiani, Camilla; Maidantchik, Carmen; Maio, Amélia; Majewski, Stephanie; Makida, Yasuhiro; Makovec, Nikola; Mal, Prolay; Malaescu, Bogdan; Malecki, Pawel; Maleev, Victor; Malek, Fairouz; Mallik, Usha; Malon, David; Malone, Caitlin; Maltezos, Stavros; Malyshev, Vladimir; Malyukov, Sergei; Mamuzic, Judita; Mandelli, Beatrice; Mandelli, Luciano; Mandić, Igor; Mandrysch, Rocco; Maneira, José; Manfredini, Alessandro; Manhaes de Andrade Filho, Luciano; Manjarres Ramos, Joany Andreina; Mann, Alexander; Manning, Peter; Manousakis-Katsikakis, Arkadios; Mansoulie, Bruno; Mantifel, Rodger; Mapelli, Livio; March, Luis; Marchand, Jean-Francois; Marchiori, Giovanni; Marcisovsky, Michal; Marino, Christopher; Marques, Carlos; Marroquim, Fernando; Marsden, Stephen Philip; Marshall, Zach; Marti, Lukas Fritz; Marti-Garcia, Salvador; Martin, Brian; Martin, Brian Thomas; Martin, Jean-Pierre; Martin, Tim; Martin, Victoria Jane; Martin dit Latour, Bertrand; Martinez, Homero; Martinez, Mario; Martin-Haugh, Stewart; Martyniuk, Alex; Marx, Marilyn; Marzano, Francesco; Marzin, Antoine; Masetti, Lucia; Mashimo, Tetsuro; Mashinistov, Ruslan; Masik, Jiri; Maslennikov, Alexey; Massa, Ignazio; Massol, Nicolas; Mastrandrea, Paolo; Mastroberardino, Anna; Masubuchi, Tatsuya; Matricon, Pierre; Matsunaga, Hiroyuki; Matsushita, Takashi; Mättig, Peter; Mättig, Stefan; Mattmann, Johannes; Maurer, Julien; Maxfield, Stephen; Maximov, Dmitriy; Mazini, Rachid; Mazzaferro, Luca; Mc Goldrick, Garrin; Mc Kee, Shawn Patrick; McCarn, Allison; McCarthy, Robert; McCarthy, Tom; McCubbin, Norman; McFarlane, Kenneth; Mcfayden, Josh; Mchedlidze, Gvantsa; Mclaughlan, Tom; McMahon, Steve; McPherson, Robert; Meade, Andrew; Mechnich, Joerg; Medinnis, Michael; Meehan, Samuel; Mehlhase, Sascha; Mehta, Andrew; Meier, Karlheinz; Meineck, Christian; Meirose, Bernhard; Melachrinos, Constantinos; Mellado Garcia, Bruce Rafael; Meloni, Federico; Mengarelli, Alberto; Menke, Sven; Meoni, Evelin; Mercurio, Kevin Michael; Mergelmeyer, Sebastian; Meric, Nicolas; Mermod, Philippe; Merola, Leonardo; Meroni, Chiara; Merritt, Frank; Merritt, Hayes; Messina, Andrea; Metcalfe, Jessica; Mete, Alaettin Serhan; Meyer, Carsten; Meyer, Christopher; Meyer, Jean-Pierre; Meyer, Jochen; Middleton, Robin; Migas, Sylwia; Mijović, Liza; Mikenberg, Giora; Mikestikova, Marcela; Mikuž, Marko; Miller, David; Mills, Corrinne; Milov, Alexander; Milstead, David; Milstein, Dmitry; Minaenko, Andrey; Miñano Moya, Mercedes; Minashvili, Irakli; Mincer, Allen; Mindur, Bartosz; Mineev, Mikhail; Ming, Yao; Mir, Lluisa-Maria; Mirabelli, Giovanni; Mitani, Takashi; Mitrevski, Jovan; Mitsou, Vasiliki A; Mitsui, Shingo; Miucci, Antonio; Miyagawa, Paul; Mjörnmark, Jan-Ulf; Moa, Torbjoern; Mochizuki, Kazuya; Moeller, Victoria; Mohapatra, Soumya; Mohr, Wolfgang; Molander, Simon; Moles-Valls, Regina; Mönig, Klaus; Monini, Caterina; Monk, James; Monnier, Emmanuel; Montejo Berlingen, Javier; Monticelli, Fernando; Monzani, Simone; Moore, Roger; Moraes, Arthur; Morange, Nicolas; Morel, Julien; Moreno, Deywis; Moreno Llácer, María; Morettini, Paolo; Morgenstern, Marcus; Morii, Masahiro; Moritz, Sebastian; Morley, Anthony Keith; Mornacchi, Giuseppe; Morris, John; Morvaj, Ljiljana; Moser, Hans-Guenther; Mosidze, Maia; Moss, Josh; Mount, Richard; Mountricha, Eleni; Mouraviev, Sergei; Moyse, Edward; Muanza, Steve; Mudd, Richard; Mueller, Felix; Mueller, James; Mueller, Klemens; Mueller, Thibaut; Mueller, Timo; Muenstermann, Daniel; Munwes, Yonathan; Murillo Quijada, Javier Alberto; Murray, Bill; Musheghyan, Haykuhi; Musto, Elisa; Myagkov, Alexey; Myska, Miroslav; Nackenhorst, Olaf; Nadal, Jordi; Nagai, Koichi; Nagai, Ryo; Nagai, Yoshikazu; Nagano, Kunihiro; Nagarkar, Advait; Nagasaka, Yasushi; Nagel, Martin; Nairz, Armin Michael; Nakahama, Yu; Nakamura, Koji; Nakamura, Tomoaki; Nakano, Itsuo; Namasivayam, Harisankar; Nanava, Gizo; Narayan, Rohin; Nattermann, Till; Naumann, Thomas; Navarro, Gabriela; Nayyar, Ruchika; Neal, Homer; Nechaeva, Polina; Neep, Thomas James; Negri, Andrea; Negri, Guido; Negrini, Matteo; Nektarijevic, Snezana; Nelson, Andrew; Nelson, Timothy Knight; Nemecek, Stanislav; Nemethy, Peter; Nepomuceno, Andre Asevedo; Nessi, Marzio; Neubauer, Mark; Neumann, Manuel; Neves, Ricardo; Nevski, Pavel; Newcomer, Mitchel; Newman, Paul; Nguyen, Duong Hai; Nickerson, Richard; Nicolaidou, Rosy; Nicquevert, Bertrand; Nielsen, Jason; Nikiforou, Nikiforos; Nikiforov, Andriy; Nikolaenko, Vladimir; Nikolic-Audit, Irena; Nikolics, Katalin; Nikolopoulos, Konstantinos; Nilsson, Paul; Ninomiya, Yoichi; Nisati, Aleandro; Nisius, Richard; Nobe, Takuya; Nodulman, Lawrence; Nomachi, Masaharu; Nomidis, Ioannis; Norberg, Scarlet; Nordberg, Markus; Nowak, Sebastian; Nozaki, Mitsuaki; Nozka, Libor; Ntekas, Konstantinos; Nunes Hanninger, Guilherme; Nunnemann, Thomas; Nurse, Emily; Nuti, Francesco; O'Brien, Brendan Joseph; O'grady, Fionnbarr; O'Neil, Dugan; O'Shea, Val; Oakham, Gerald; Oberlack, Horst; Obermann, Theresa; Ocariz, Jose; Ochi, Atsuhiko; Ochoa, Ines; Oda, Susumu; Odaka, Shigeru; Ogren, Harold; Oh, Alexander; Oh, Seog; Ohm, Christian; Ohman, Henrik; Ohshima, Takayoshi; Okamura, Wataru; Okawa, Hideki; Okumura, Yasuyuki; Okuyama, Toyonobu; Olariu, Albert; Olchevski, Alexander; Olivares Pino, Sebastian Andres; Oliveira Damazio, Denis; Oliver Garcia, Elena; Olszewski, Andrzej; Olszowska, Jolanta; Onofre, António; Onyisi, Peter; Oram, Christopher; Oreglia, Mark; Oren, Yona; Orestano, Domizia; Orlando, Nicola; Oropeza Barrera, Cristina; Orr, Robert; Osculati, Bianca; Ospanov, Rustem; Otero y Garzon, Gustavo; Otono, Hidetoshi; Ouchrif, Mohamed; Ouellette, Eric; Ould-Saada, Farid; Ouraou, Ahmimed; Oussoren, Koen Pieter; Ouyang, Qun; Ovcharova, Ana; Owen, Mark; Ozcan, Veysi Erkcan; Ozturk, Nurcan; Pachal, Katherine; Pacheco Pages, Andres; Padilla Aranda, Cristobal; Pagáčová, Martina; Pagan Griso, Simone; Paganis, Efstathios; Pahl, Christoph; Paige, Frank; Pais, Preema; Pajchel, Katarina; Palacino, Gabriel; Palestini, Sandro; Pallin, Dominique; Palma, Alberto; Palmer, Jody; Pan, Yibin; Panagiotopoulou, Evgenia; Panduro Vazquez, William; Pani, Priscilla; Panikashvili, Natalia; Panitkin, Sergey; Pantea, Dan; Paolozzi, Lorenzo; Papadopoulou, Theodora; Papageorgiou, Konstantinos; Paramonov, Alexander; Paredes Hernandez, Daniela; Parker, Michael Andrew; Parodi, Fabrizio; Parsons, John; Parzefall, Ulrich; Pasqualucci, Enrico; Passaggio, Stefano; Passeri, Antonio; Pastore, Fernanda; Pastore, Francesca; Pásztor, Gabriella; Pataraia, Sophio; Patel, Nikhul; Pater, Joleen; Patricelli, Sergio; Pauly, Thilo; Pearce, James; Pedersen, Maiken; Pedraza Lopez, Sebastian; Pedro, Rute; Peleganchuk, Sergey; Pelikan, Daniel; Peng, Haiping; Penning, Bjoern; Penwell, John; Perepelitsa, Dennis; Perez Codina, Estel; Pérez García-Estañ, María Teresa; Perez Reale, Valeria; Perini, Laura; Pernegger, Heinz; Perrino, Roberto; Peschke, Richard; Peshekhonov, Vladimir; Peters, Krisztian; Peters, Yvonne; Petersen, Brian; Petersen, Jorgen; Petersen, Troels; Petit, Elisabeth; Petridis, Andreas; Petridou, Chariclia; Petrolo, Emilio; Petrucci, Fabrizio; Petteni, Michele; Pettersson, Nora Emilia; Pezoa, Raquel; Phillips, Peter William; Piacquadio, Giacinto; Pianori, Elisabetta; Picazio, Attilio; Piccaro, Elisa; Piccinini, Maurizio; Piegaia, Ricardo; Pieron, Jacek Piotr; Pignotti, David; Pilcher, James; Pilkington, Andrew; Pina, João Antonio; Pinamonti, Michele; Pinder, Alex; Pinfold, James; Pingel, Almut; Pinto, Belmiro; Pires, Sylvestre; Pitt, Michael; Pizio, Caterina; Pleier, Marc-Andre; Pleskot, Vojtech; Plotnikova, Elena; Plucinski, Pawel; Poddar, Sahill; Podlyski, Fabrice; Poettgen, Ruth; Poggioli, Luc; Pohl, David-leon; Pohl, Martin; Polesello, Giacomo; Policicchio, Antonio; Polifka, Richard; Polini, Alessandro; Pollard, Christopher Samuel; Polychronakos, Venetios; Pommès, Kathy; Pontecorvo, Ludovico; Pope, Bernard; Popeneciu, Gabriel Alexandru; Popovic, Dragan; Poppleton, Alan; Portell Bueso, Xavier; Pospelov, Guennady; Pospisil, Stanislav; Potamianos, Karolos; Potrap, Igor; Potter, Christina; Potter, Christopher; Poulard, Gilbert; Poveda, Joaquin; Pozdnyakov, Valery; Pralavorio, Pascal; Pranko, Aliaksandr; Prasad, Srivas; Pravahan, Rishiraj; Prell, Soeren; Price, Darren; Price, Joe; Price, Lawrence; Prieur, Damien; Primavera, Margherita; Proissl, Manuel; Prokofiev, Kirill; Prokoshin, Fedor; Protopapadaki, Eftychia-sofia; Protopopescu, Serban; Proudfoot, James; Przybycien, Mariusz; Przysiezniak, Helenka; Ptacek, Elizabeth; Pueschel, Elisa; Puldon, David; Purohit, Milind; Puzo, Patrick; Qian, Jianming; Qin, Gang; Qin, Yang; Quadt, Arnulf; Quarrie, David; Quayle, William; Quilty, Donnchadha; Qureshi, Anum; Radeka, Veljko; Radescu, Voica; Radhakrishnan, Sooraj Krishnan; Radloff, Peter; Rados, Pere; Ragusa, Francesco; Rahal, Ghita; Rajagopalan, Srinivasan; Rammensee, Michael; Randle-Conde, Aidan Sean; Rangel-Smith, Camila; Rao, Kanury; Rauscher, Felix; Rave, Tobias Christian; Ravenscroft, Thomas; Raymond, Michel; Read, Alexander Lincoln; Rebuzzi, Daniela; Redelbach, Andreas; Redlinger, George; Reece, Ryan; Reeves, Kendall; Rehnisch, Laura; Reinsch, Andreas; Reisin, Hernan; Relich, Matthew; Rembser, Christoph; Ren, Zhongliang; Renaud, Adrien; Rescigno, Marco; Resconi, Silvia; Resende, Bernardo; Rezanova, Olga; Reznicek, Pavel; Rezvani, Reyhaneh; Richter, Robert; Ridel, Melissa; Rieck, Patrick; Rijssenbeek, Michael; Rimoldi, Adele; Rinaldi, Lorenzo; Ritsch, Elmar; Riu, Imma; Rizatdinova, Flera; Rizvi, Eram; Robertson, Steven; Robichaud-Veronneau, Andree; Robinson, Dave; Robinson, James; Robson, Aidan; Roda, Chiara; Rodrigues, Luis; Roe, Shaun; Røhne, Ole; Rolli, Simona; Romaniouk, Anatoli; Romano, Marino; Romeo, Gaston; Romero Adam, Elena; Rompotis, Nikolaos; Roos, Lydia; Ros, Eduardo; Rosati, Stefano; Rosbach, Kilian; Rose, Matthew; Rosendahl, Peter Lundgaard; Rosenthal, Oliver; Rossetti, Valerio; Rossi, Elvira; Rossi, Leonardo Paolo; Rosten, Rachel; Rotaru, Marina; Roth, Itamar; Rothberg, Joseph; Rousseau, David; Royon, Christophe; Rozanov, Alexandre; Rozen, Yoram; Ruan, Xifeng; Rubbo, Francesco; Rubinskiy, Igor; Rud, Viacheslav; Rudolph, Christian; Rudolph, Matthew Scott; Rühr, Frederik; Ruiz-Martinez, Aranzazu; Rurikova, Zuzana; Rusakovich, Nikolai; Ruschke, Alexander; Rutherfoord, John; Ruthmann, Nils; Ryabov, Yury; Rybar, Martin; Rybkin, Grigori; Ryder, Nick; Saavedra, Aldo; Sacerdoti, Sabrina; Saddique, Asif; Sadeh, Iftach; Sadrozinski, Hartmut; Sadykov, Renat; Safai Tehrani, Francesco; Sakamoto, Hiroshi; Sakurai, Yuki; Salamanna, Giuseppe; Salamon, Andrea; Saleem, Muhammad; Salek, David; 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    The semiconductor tracker is a silicon microstrip detector forming part of the inner tracking system of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The operation and performance of the semiconductor tracker during the first years of LHC running are described. More than 99% of the detector modules were operational during this period, with an average intrinsic hit efficiency of (99.74 +/- 0.04)%. The evolution of the noise occupancy is discussed, and measurements of the Lorentz angle, delta-ray production and energy loss presented. The alignment of the detector is found to be stable at the few-micron level over long periods of time. Radiation damage measurements, which include the evolution of detector leakage currents, are found to be consistent with predictions and are used in the verification of radiation background simulations.

  19. COMMISSIONING AND DETECTOR PERFORMANCE GROUPS

    CERN Multimedia

    D. Acosta

    The global commissioning campaign begins this year with a series of weekly two-day global runs of limited participation until mid-March. The aim of these runs varies week-to-week, but includes the commissioning the calorimeter triggers, the muon track-finder triggers in the DT/CSC overlap, the PLL locking ranges, and generally accumulating data either for HCAL noise characterization or detector studies with cosmic muons. In mid-March a full Global Run is scheduled with all components participating, followed in April by a Cosmic Run with the aim of collecting statistics over a couple weeks with the installed Tracker and other subsystems. The ultimate milestone is the Cosmic Run At Four Tesla (CRAFT), with a completed CMS closed and the solenoid energized for data-taking during June. The Detector Performance Groups start the year with the focus to prepare for LHC collisions, and the associated challenges (CSA08) and global commissioning exercises (CRAFT) along the way. New this year is the addition of the Tri...

  20. COMMISSIONING AND DETECTOR PERFORMANCE GROUPS

    CERN Multimedia

    D. Acosta

    The commissioning effort is presently addressing two main areas: the commissioning of the hardware components at the pit and the coordination of the activities of the newly constituted Detector Performance groups (DPGs). At point 5, a plan regarding the service cavern and the commissioning of the connections of the off-detector electronics (for the data collection line and trigger primitive generation) to the central DAQ and the central Trigger has been defined. This activity was started early February and will continue until May. It began with Tracker electronics followed so far by HCAL and CSC. The goal is to have by May every detector commission, as much as possible, their data transfer paths from FED to Central DAQ as well as their trigger setups between TPGs and Global Level 1 trigger. The next focus is on connections of front-ends to the service cavern. This depends strongly on the installations of services. Presently the only detector which has its link fibers connected to the off-detector electr...

  1. Performance and Operation Experience of the ATLAS Semiconductor Tracker

    CERN Document Server

    Gallop, B J; The ATLAS collaboration

    2013-01-01

    We report on the operation and performance of the ATLAS Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT), which has been functioning for 3 years in a high luminosity, high radiation environment. The SCT is constructed of 4088 silicon detector modules, for a total of 6.3 million strips. Each module operates as a stand-alone unit, mechanically, electrically, optically and thermally. The modules are mounted into two types of structures: one barrel, made of 4 cylinders, and two end-cap systems made of 9 disks. The SCT silicon micro-strip sensors are processed in the planar p-in-n technology. The signals are processed in the front-end ABCD3TA ASICs, which use a binary readout architecture. Data is transferred to the off-detector readout electronics via optical fibres. We find 99.3% of the SCT modules are operational, the noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specifications; the alignment is very close to the ideal to allow on-line track reconstruction and invariant mass determination. We will report on the operation an...

  2. Performance and Operation Experience of the ATLAS Semiconductor Tracker

    CERN Document Server

    Gallop, B J

    2014-01-01

    We report on the operation and performance of the ATLAS Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT), which has been functioning for 3 years in a high luminosity, high radiation environment. The SCT is constructed of 4088 silicon detector modules, for a total of 6.3 million strips. Each module operates as a stand-alone unit, mechanically, electrically, optically and thermally. The modules are mounted into two types of structures: one barrel, made of 4 cylinders, and two end-cap systems made of 9 disks. The SCT silicon micro-strip sensors are processed in the planar p-in-n technology. The signals are processed in the front-end ABCD3TA ASICs, which use a binary readout architecture. Data is transferred to the off-detector readout electronics via optical fibres. We find $99.3\\%$ of the SCT modules are operational, the noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specifications; the alignment is very close to the ideal to allow on-line track reconstruction and invariant mass determination. We will report on the operation...

  3. A temperature and mass dependence of the linear Boltzmann collision operator from group theory point of view

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saveliev, V.

    1996-01-01

    The Lie group of the transformations affecting the parameters of the linear Boltzmann collision operator such as temperature of background gas and ratio of masses of colliding particles and molecules is discovered. The group also describes the conservation laws for collisions and main symmetries of the collision operator. New algebraic properties of the collision operator are derived. Transformations acting on the variables and parameters and leaving the linear Boltzmann kinetic equation invariant are found. For the constant collision frequency the integral representation of solutions for nonuniform case in terms of the distribution function of particles drifting in a gas with zero temperature is deduced. The new exact relaxation solutions are obtained too. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

  4. Managing Climate Risk. Integrating Adaptation into World Bank Group Operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Aalst, M.

    2006-08-01

    Climate change is already taking place, and further changes are inevitable. Developing countries, and particularly the poorest people in these countries, are most at risk. The impacts result not only from gradual changes in temperature and sea level but also, in particular, from increased climate variability and extremes, including more intense floods, droughts, and storms. These changes are already having major impacts on the economic performance of developing countries and on the lives and livelihoods of millions of poor people around the world. Climate change thus directly affects the World Bank Group's mission of eradicating poverty. It also puts at risk many projects in a wide range of sectors, including infrastructure, agriculture, human health, water resources, and environment. The risks include physical threats to the investments, potential underperformance, and the possibility that projects will indirectly contribute to rising vulnerability by, for example, triggering investment and settlement in high-risk areas. The way to address these concerns is not to separate climate change adaptation from other priorities but to integrate comprehensive climate risk management into development planning, programs, and projects. While there is a great need to heighten awareness of climate risk in Bank work, a large body of experience on climate risk management is already available, in analytical work, in country dialogues, and in a growing number of investment projects. This operational experience highlights the general ingredients for successful integration of climate risk management into the mainstream development agenda: getting the right sectoral departments and senior policy makers involved; incorporating risk management into economic planning; engaging a wide range of nongovernmental actors (businesses, nongovernmental organizations, communities, and so on); giving attention to regulatory issues; and choosing strategies that will pay off immediately under current

  5. The influence on the performance of operators along with the introduction of the advanced main control board

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohsuga, Yasuhiko

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes an influence on the performance of operators along with the introduction of the advanced main control board (MCB). The influence on the performance of operators is considered based on the operating procedure, the requirements for operators and the operator training. The operating procedure is the document which puts forward the way that the designer has thought in advance for the operators and describes the performance of operators. The introduction of the advanced MCB seems to be bringing a change of the operating procedure. The requirements for operators are the knowledge, skills and attitude, and crew resource management (CRM) skill. CRM skill makes use of the knowledge, skills and attitude and improves the team performance. The advanced MCB seems to induce a change of CRM skill i.e. the communication, decision making or problem solving, team building, situation awareness, and workload management of different shift teams. The operator training is the best way to verify the change of the operating procedure and CRM skill. (author)

  6. Operational Modal Analysis and the Performance Assessment of Vehicle Suspension Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Soria

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Comfort, road holding and safety of passenger cars are mainly influenced by an appropriate design of suspension systems. Improvements of the dynamic behaviour can be achieved by implementing semi-active or active suspension systems. In these cases, the correct design of a well-performing suspension control strategy is of fundamental importance to obtain satisfying results. Operational Modal Analysis allows the experimental structural identification in those that are the real operating conditions: Moving from output-only data, leading to modal models linearised around the more interesting working points and, in the case of controlled systems, providing the needed information for the optimal design and verification of the controller performance. All these characters are needed for the experimental assessment of vehicle suspension systems. In the paper two suspension architectures are considered equipping the same car type. The former is a semi-active commercial system, the latter a novel prototypic active system. For the assessment of suspension performance, two different kinds of tests have been considered, proving ground tests on different road profiles and laboratory four poster rig tests. By OMA-processing the signals acquired in the different testing conditions and by comparing the results, it is shown how this tool can be effectively utilised to verify the operation and the performance of those systems, by only carrying out a simple, cost-effective road test.

  7. Operating experience and performance at Narora Atomic Power Station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mittal, Subhash; Gupta, J.P.

    1998-01-01

    Narora Atomic Power Station consists of two units of 220 MWe capacity each. These are Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors, fuelled by natural uranium, moderated and cooled by heavy water. The Station is owned by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd., which is responsible for design, construction, commissioning, and operation of all nuclear power stations in the country. NAPS was the first opportunity to apply operating experiences in design, keeping in view the evolving safety and seismicity requirements, ease of maintenance, inservice inspection needs, improved construction ability and standardization. Both the units of NAPS are having improved safety standards of current international levels. All the equipment are indigenous with improved quality and reliability. The first unit of the station went critical in March 1989 and synchronized to the grid in July 1989. The second units followed with its criticality in October 1991 and synchronization in January 1992. Considering the initial stabilizing period, the performance of both units of NAPS has progressively improved over the years. The annual capacity factor for NAPS - 1 was 90.01% and for NAPS - 2 was 89.01% for the financial year 1997-1998. This paper presents an analysis of the performance during the last three years and measures taken to improve it. The stated enhanced performance could be achieved by improvement in human performance by training/re-training, scrupulous monitoring and review of equipment/systems, institution of adequate procedure and ensuring their adherence. (authors)

  8. Catalytic performance improvement of styrene hydrogenation in trickle bed reactor by using periodic operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wongkia, Atittahn; Praserthdam, Piyasan; Assabumrungrat, Suttichai; Suriye, Kongkiat; Nonkhamwong, Anuwat

    2013-01-01

    We investigated the catalytic performance improvement of styrene hydrogenation in a trickle bed reactor by using periodic operation. The effects of cycle period and split on relative conversion, which is defined as styrene conversion obtained from periodic operation over that from steady state operation, were examined at various operating conditions including gas and average liquid flow rates, pressure and temperature. The experimental results reveal that both cycle period and split have strong influence on the catalytic performance. The fast mode (short cycle period) is a favorable condition. The improvement by the periodic operation becomes less pronounced for operations at high average liquid flow rate, pressure and temperature. From this study, a maximum improvement of styrene conversion of 18% is observed

  9. Catalytic performance improvement of styrene hydrogenation in trickle bed reactor by using periodic operation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wongkia, Atittahn; Praserthdam, Piyasan; Assabumrungrat, Suttichai [Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Thailand); Suriye, Kongkiat; Nonkhamwong, Anuwat [SCG Chemicals Co. Ltd., Bangkok (Thailand)

    2013-03-15

    We investigated the catalytic performance improvement of styrene hydrogenation in a trickle bed reactor by using periodic operation. The effects of cycle period and split on relative conversion, which is defined as styrene conversion obtained from periodic operation over that from steady state operation, were examined at various operating conditions including gas and average liquid flow rates, pressure and temperature. The experimental results reveal that both cycle period and split have strong influence on the catalytic performance. The fast mode (short cycle period) is a favorable condition. The improvement by the periodic operation becomes less pronounced for operations at high average liquid flow rate, pressure and temperature. From this study, a maximum improvement of styrene conversion of 18% is observed.

  10. Environmental management and operational performance in automotive companies in Brazil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jabbour, C.J.C.; De Sousa Jabbour, A.B.L.; Govindan, Kannan

    2013-01-01

    The main objective of this study is to verify the influence of Environmental Management (EM) on Operational Performance (OP) in Brazilian automotive companies, analyzing whether Lean Manufacturing (LM) and Human Resources (HR) interfere in the greening of these companies. Therefore, a conceptual...... framework listing these concepts was proposed, and three research hypotheses were presented. A questionnaire was elaborated based on this theoretical background and sent to respondents occupying the highest positions in the production/operations areas of Brazilian automotive companies. The data, collected...

  11. Nurses' perceptions and experiences of communication in the operating theatre: a focus group interview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nestel, Debra; Kidd, Jane

    2006-01-01

    Abstract Nurses' perceptions and experiences of communication in the operating theatre: a focus group interview Background Communication programmes are well established in nurse education. The focus of programmes is most often on communicating with patients with less attention paid to inter-professional communication or skills essential for working in specialised settings. Although there are many anecdotal reports of communication within the operating theatre, there are few empirical studies. This paper explores communication behaviours for effective practice in the operating theatre as perceived by nurses and serves as a basis for developing training. Methods A focus group interview was conducted with seven experienced theatre nurses from a large London teaching hospital. The interview explored their perceptions of the key as well as unique features of effective communication skills in the operating theatre. Data was transcribed and thematically analysed until agreement was achieved by the two authors. Results There was largely consensus on the skills deemed necessary for effective practice including listening, clarity of speech and being polite. Significant influences on the nature of communication included conflict in role perception and organisational issues. Nurses were often expected to work outside of their role which either directly or indirectly created barriers for effective communication. Perceptions of a lack of collaborative team effort also influenced communication. Conclusion Although fundamental communication skills were identified for effective practice in the operating theatre, there were significant barriers to their use because of confusion over clarity of roles (especially nurses' roles) and the implications for teamwork. Nurses were dissatisfied with several aspects of communication. Future studies should explore the breadth and depth of this dissatisfaction in other operating theatres, its impact on morale and importantly on patient safety

  12. Using technology-enhanced, cooperative, group-project learning for student comprehension and academic performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tlhoaele, Malefyane; Suhre, Cor; Hofman, Adriaan

    2016-05-01

    Cooperative learning may improve students' motivation, understanding of course concepts, and academic performance. This study therefore enhanced a cooperative, group-project learning technique with technology resources to determine whether doing so improved students' deep learning and performance. A sample of 118 engineering students, randomly divided into two groups, participated in this study and provided data through questionnaires issued before and after the experiment. The results, obtained through analyses of variance and structural equation modelling, reveal that technology-enhanced, cooperative, group-project learning improves students' comprehension and academic performance.

  13. A Production Approach to Performance of Banks with Microfinance Operations

    OpenAIRE

    Emilyn Cabanda; Eleanor C. Domingo

    2014-01-01

    Banking institutions, nowadays, serve as intermediaries of funds to a variety of clients, including the micro enterprisers. This study analyzes and measures the performance of rural and thrift banks with microfinance operations in the Philippines, using combined measures of data envelopment analysis and traditional financial performance indicators. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) method is employed to measure the productive efficiency of these banks under the production approach. The variable...

  14. The ATLAS Pixel Detector operation and performance

    CERN Document Server

    Andreazza, A; The ATLAS collaboration

    2010-01-01

    The ATLAS Pixel Detector is the innermost detector of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. It consists of 1744 silicon sensors equipped with approximately $80 imes 10^6$~electronic channels, providing typically three measurement points with high resolution for particles emerging from the beam-interaction region. The complete Pixel Detector has been taking part in cosmic-ray data-taking since 2008. Since November 2009 it has been operated with LHC colliding beams at $sqrt{s}=900$~GeV, 2.36~TeV and 7 TeV. The detector operated with an active fraction of 97.2% at a threshold of 3500~$e$, showing a noise occupancy rate better than $10^{-9}$~hit/pixel/BC and a track association efficiency of 99%. The Lorentz angle for electrons in silicon is measured to be $ heta_mathrm{L}=12.11^circ pm 0.09^circ$ and its temperature dependence has been verified. The pulse height information from the time-over-threshold technique allows to improve the point resolution using charge sharing and to perform parti...

  15. ATLAS Silicon Microstrip Tracker Operation and Performance

    CERN Document Server

    Chalupkova, I; The ATLAS collaboration

    2012-01-01

    The Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) is a silicon strip detector and one of the key precision tracking devices in the Inner Detector of the ATLAS experiment at CERN LHC. The SCT is constructed of 4088 silicon detector modules for a total of 6.3 million strips. Each module is designed, constructed and tested to operate as a stand-alone unit, mechanically, electrically, optically and thermally. The modules are mounted into two types of structures: one barrel (4 cylinders) and two end-cap systems (9 disks on each end of the barrel). The SCT silicon micro-strip sensors are processed in the planar p-in-n technology. The signals from the strips are processed in the front-end ASICS ABCD3TA, working in the binary readout mode. Data is transferred to the off-detector readout electronics via optical fibers. The completed SCT has been installed inside the ATLAS experimental cavern since 2007 and has been operational since then. Calibration data has been taken regularly and analyzed to determine the noise performance of the ...

  16. ATLAS Silicon Microstrip Tracker Operation and Performance

    CERN Document Server

    NAGAI, K; The ATLAS collaboration

    2012-01-01

    The Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) is a silicon strip detector and one of the key precision tracking devices in the Inner Detector of the ATLAS experiment at CERN LHC. The SCT is constructed of 4088 silicon detector modules for a total of 6.3 million strips. Each module is designed, constructed and tested to operate as a stand-alone unit, mechanically, electrically, optically and thermally. The modules are mounted into two types of structures: one barrel (4 cylinders) and two end-cap systems (9 disks on each end of the barrel). The SCT silicon micro-strip sensors are processed in the planar p-in-n technology. The signals from the strips are processed in the front-end ASICS ABCD3TA, working in the binary readout mode. Data is transferred to the off-detector readout electronics via optical fibres. The completed SCT has been installed inside the ATLAS experimental cavern since 2007 and has been operational since then. Calibration data has been taken regularly and analysed to determine the noise performance of the ...

  17. ATLAS Silicon Microstrip Tracker Operation and Performance

    CERN Document Server

    Chalupkova, I; The ATLAS collaboration

    2012-01-01

    The Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) is a silicon strip detector and one of the key precision tracking devices in the Inner Detector (ID) of the ATLAS experiment at CERN LHC. The SCT is constructed of 4088 silicon detector modules with a total of 6.3 million strips. Each module is designed, constructed and tested to operate as a stand-alone unit, mechanically, electrically, optically and thermally. The modules are mounted into two types of structures: one barrel (4 cylinders) and two end-cap systems (9 disks on each side of the barrel). The SCT silicon microstrip sensors are processed in the planar p-in-n technology. The signals from the strips are processed in the front-end ASICs ABCD3TA, working in the binary readout mode. Data is transferred to the off-detector readout electronics via optical fibres. SCT has been installed inside the ATLAS experimental cavern since 2007 and has been operational ever since. Calibration data has been taken regularly and analysed to determine the noise performance of the system. ...

  18. Improved operational performance through the use of business planning tools

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoelscher, H.L.

    1996-01-01

    Improved operational performance at Point Beach Nuclear Plant is based on a focused business plan. Quantitative goals that compare past performance with the performance of potential competitors are the basis of the business plan. This establishes goals for the nuclear power business unit which support corporate goals. Strategies and objectives are then developed to meet the established goals. To continue support for these strategies and objectives, individual performance plans are developed for all management personnel. These performance management plans identify individual contributor actions to support the goals, and also provide periodic feedback for changes to better prioritize individual actions. Performance criteria are also established to measure progress toward achieving the goals. The author also has a program to provide incentives for improved performance based upon success of the organization in achieving established goals

  19. 3D Vision Provides Shorter Operative Time and More Accurate Intraoperative Surgical Performance in Laparoscopic Hiatal Hernia Repair Compared With 2D Vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leon, Piera; Rivellini, Roberta; Giudici, Fabiola; Sciuto, Antonio; Pirozzi, Felice; Corcione, Francesco

    2017-04-01

    The aim of this study is to evaluate if 3-dimensional high-definition (3D) vision in laparoscopy can prompt advantages over conventional 2D high-definition vision in hiatal hernia (HH) repair. Between September 2012 and September 2015, we randomized 36 patients affected by symptomatic HH to undergo surgery; 17 patients underwent 2D laparoscopic HH repair, whereas 19 patients underwent the same operation in 3D vision. No conversion to open surgery occurred. Overall operative time was significantly reduced in the 3D laparoscopic group compared with the 2D one (69.9 vs 90.1 minutes, P = .006). Operative time to perform laparoscopic crura closure did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. We observed a tendency to a faster crura closure in the 3D group in the subgroup of patients with mesh positioning (7.5 vs 8.9 minutes, P = .09). Nissen fundoplication was faster in the 3D group without mesh positioning ( P = .07). 3D vision in laparoscopic HH repair helps surgeon's visualization and seems to lead to operative time reduction. Advantages can result from the enhanced spatial perception of narrow spaces. Less operative time and more accurate surgery translate to benefit for patients and cost savings, compensating the high costs of the 3D technology. However, more data from larger series are needed to firmly assess the advantages of 3D over 2D vision in laparoscopic HH repair.

  20. Performance Evaluation and Suggestion of Upgraded Fuel Handling Equipment for Operating OPR1000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Sang Gyoon; Hwang, Jeung Ki; Choi, Taek Sang; Na, Eun Seok; Lee, Myung Lyul; Baek, Seung Jin; Kim, Man Su; Kunik, Jack

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of upgraded FHE (Fuel Handling Equipment) for operating OPR 1000 (Optimized Power Reactor) by using data measured during the fuel reloading, and make some suggestions on enhancing the performance of the FHE. The fuel handling equipment, which serves critical processes in the refueling outage, has been upgraded to increase and improve the operational availability of the plant. The evaluation and suggestion of this study can be a beneficial tool related to the performance of the fuel handling equipment

  1. Data Base Management Plan for the remedial investigation of Waste Area Grouping 10, Operable Unit 3, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-10-01

    This Data Base Management Plan describes the gathering, verifying, analyzing, reporting, and archiving of data generated during the remedial investigation of Waste Area Grouping 10, Operable Unit 3. This investigation will produce data documenting wellhead surveys, well headspace gas pressure measurements, geophysical surveys, water level measurements, and borehole geophysical logs. Close Support Laboratory analyses will be performed on well headspace gas and well water samples

  2. Updated Army Cook Staffing Model to Reflect Workloads Generated by Current Field Feeding Operations, Group Rations, and Kitchens

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kirejczyk, Harry J

    2006-01-01

    ...: the Unitized Group Ration-A (UGR-A) and the Unitized Group Ration-Heat/Serve (UGR-H/S). These fieldings were designed to increase the frequency and quality of group hot meals and reduce the cook workloads generated by field feeding operations...

  3. Importance-performance analysis of dental satisfaction among three ethnic groups in malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewi, Fellani Danasra; Gundavarapu, Kalyan C; Cugati, Navaneetha

    2013-01-01

    To find the differences in patient satisfaction related to dental services among three ethnic groups - Chinese, Indian and Malay - at AIMST University Dental Centre and analyse them with an importance-performance grid, identifying the weak and strong points, in order to provide better service. This questionnaire-based study consisted of convenience samples of 174 patients of Chinese, Indian and Malay ethnicity. Importance-performance analysis for 20 attributes were compared using Likert's scale. The data obtained were statistically analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Chinese and Indians both emphasised low performance on the interpersonal relationship attribute in terms of the receptionist's courtesy, whereas the Malay participants were concerned with convenience attributes. All the ethnic groups favoured maintaining existing major attributes towards technical competency, interpersonal relationship and facility factors. This study demonstrated priority differences between the ethnic groups' perception of the quality of dental services, where ethnic Chinese showed the highest gap (measure of dissatisfaction) between importance and performance compared to ethnic Malays, followed by ethnic Indians. The patients from the three major ethnic groups of Malaysia were generally well satisfied. Perhaps more priority should be placed on improving the interpersonal relationship attribute, especially with the receptionists.

  4. Performance of 12Ah aerospace nickel-cadmium cells of design variable groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasanth, K. L.

    1985-01-01

    The design variable program of NASA is a systematic approach to evaluate the performance of 12Ah aerospace nickel-cadmium cells of 9 important cell designs. These cells were life cycled in a Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) regime for 3 to 4 years. Representative cells taken from the design variable groups after different cycling periods have been examined. The results show that: (1) positive swelling and carbonate content in the electrolyte increases as a function of the number of cycles, (2) electrolyte distribution follows the order NEG greater than POS greater than SEP, 3) control and no PQ groups outperformed the rest of the groups and (4) the polypropylene group shows very heavy cadmium migration and poor performance.

  5. Performance assessment for continuing and future operations at solid waste storage area 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-09-01

    This revised performance assessment (PA) for the continued disposal operations at Solid Waste Storage Area (SWSA) 6 on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) has been prepared to demonstrate compliance with the performance objectives for low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal contained in the US Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5820.2A. This revised PA considers disposal operations conducted from September 26, 1988, through the projects lifetime of the disposal facility

  6. Performance assessment for continuing and future operations at solid waste storage area 6

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-09-01

    This revised performance assessment (PA) for the continued disposal operations at Solid Waste Storage Area (SWSA) 6 on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) has been prepared to demonstrate compliance with the performance objectives for low-level radioactive waste (LLW) disposal contained in the US Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5820.2A. This revised PA considers disposal operations conducted from September 26, 1988, through the projects lifetime of the disposal facility.

  7. Performance evaluation of operational energy use in refurbishment, reuse, and conservation of heritage buildings for optimum sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O.K. Akande

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The operational phase of a building project has increasingly gained importance with their energy performance becoming valuable and determining their operational excellence. In most heritage building projects (HBPs, the operational energy use aspects are less considered, and a systematic way of analyzing their energy performance following project delivery is often lacking. The aim of this study is to evaluate the operational performance of refurbishment and reuse of UK listed church projects. The objective is to assess the operational energy use with a view to optimizing their sustainable performance. The methodology includes eight selected case study buildings refurbished and converted for multipurpose use. The case study approach provided qualitative insights into how the study contributes to a more structured requirements for energy management in HBPs with specific attention to energy-efficient building operations. The findings show the need to focus on fundamental areas of operational management (i.e. by developing and implementing more focused policy on operational energy performance of heritage buildings to minimize the energy required to operate them. The challenges of implementing changes in operational energy performance improvement of heritage buildings are addressed in the form of recommendations that could lead to real results. The study concludes that leveraging these areas requires commitment from all heritage building stakeholders because they all have substantial roles in harmonizing the requirement for the project׳s sustainability and not just the building operators. Meanwhile, baseline project planning, periodic updating, monitoring, and managing the energy use pattern are suggested as measures that could greatly facilitate better energy performance to optimizing their sustainable reuse compared with the traditional approach of trying to improve their thermal performance.

  8. Performance Anxiety at English PBL Groups Among Taiwanese Medical Students: A Preliminary Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheng-Sheng Chen

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Students' performance anxiety can impact negatively on the effectiveness of medical education reform, including performance in problem-based learning (PBL and in using English in discussion. This study aimed to investigate the nature of performance anxiety among Taiwanese medical students in an English-language PBL group. Eighteen Taiwanese, one American and four Asian medical students who were attending an international PBL workshop were enrolled. A questionnaire seeking demographic data and experience in use of PBL and eight questions evaluating performance anxiety were administered. The performance anxiety of Taiwanese medical students was compared to that of the Asians and the one American. Frequencies of each performance anxiety were calculated. The results suggested that the Taiwanese students showed more anxiety than the one student from the United States, but less than other Asian students. The acts of giving a report, being the center of attention, and talking in the PBL group were the most common situations related to anxiety in PBL groups. Using English and working in a new PBL environment are possible sources of anxiety. The presence of anxiety among the Taiwanese medical students in English PBL groups implies the necessity for developing an effective strategy to deal with students' performance anxiety.

  9. ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF THE OPERATIONAL FORMATION TWO GROUP TRAINS ON THE INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF THE WORK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. P. Bozhko

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available The research of operative management by the organization of wagon flows in trains on a railway direction is executed. It is proved the expediency of introduction of a rational combination of formation of single-unit trains and two-unit trains with the purpose of acceleration of delivery of cargoes. The duration of planning period is offered as a condition for decision-making on determination of category of a separate train. The economic effect of introduction of operative management is obtained.

  10. An experimental investigation on relationship between PSFs and operator performances in the digital main control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Jooyoung; Lee, Daeil; Jung, Wondea; Kim, Jonghyun

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • The relationship between performance shaping factors and operator performances are experimentally investigated. • The experiment includes features of digital main control room. • The result indicates that the operator’s experience level is the most effective on the performance. - Abstract: This study designs an experiment to investigate the relationship between performance shaping factors (PSFs) and operator performances. This study involves selecting three PSFs that are controllable in the experiments: (1) experience, (2) complexity, and (3) urgency. Six scenarios are developed to reflect the PSFs. The experiment involves the participation of licensed operators and the use of an APR1400 simulator. During the experiment, operator performances, such as completion time, error, secondary task, workload, and situation awareness, are measured and collected. The experimental result indicates that the operator’s experience is most effective on the overall performances. The task complexity influences the secondary tasks and situation awareness.

  11. Effects of PEMFC operating parameters on the performance of an integrated ethanol processor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Francesconi, Javier A.; Mussati, Miguel C.; Aguirre, Pio A. [INGAR Instituto de Desarrollo y Diseno (CONICET-UTN), Avellaneda 3657, CP:S3002GJC, Santa Fe (Argentina)

    2010-06-15

    In this paper the performance of a complete fuel cell system processing ethanol fuel has been analyzed as a function of the main fuel cell operating parameters. The fuel processor is based on the steam reforming process, followed by high- and low-temperature shift reactors, and carbon monoxide preferential oxidation reactor, which are coupled to a polymeric fuel cell (PEMFC). The goal was to analyze and improve the fuel cell system performance by simulation techniques. PEMFC operation has been analyzed using an available parametric model, which was implemented within HYSYS environment software. Pinch Analysis concepts were used to investigate the process energy integration and determine the maximum efficiency minimizing ethanol consumption. The system performance was analyzed for the SR-12 Modular PEM Generator, the Ballard Mark V fuel cell and the BCS 500 W stack. The net system efficiency is dependent on the required power demand. Efficiency values higher than 50% at low loads and less than 30% at high power demands are computed. In addition, the effect of fuel cell temperature, pressure and hydrogen utilization was analyzed. The trade-off between the reformer yield and the fuel cell performance defines the optimal operation pressure. The cell temperature determines operating zones where the water, involved in the reforming reactions, can be produced or demanded. (author)

  12. Consensus group sessions are useful to reconcile stakeholders’ perspectives about network performance evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie-Eve Lamontagne

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Having a common vision among network stakeholders is an important ingredient to developing a performance evaluation process. Consensus methods may be a viable means to reconcile the perceptions of different stakeholders about the dimensions to include in a performance evaluation framework.Objectives: To determine whether individual organizations within traumatic brain injury (TBI networks differ in perceptions about the importance of performance dimensions for the evaluation of TBI networks and to explore the extent to which group consensus sessions could reconcile these perceptions.Methods: We used TRIAGE, a consensus technique that combines an individual and a group data collection phase to explore the perceptions of network stakeholders and to reach a consensus within structured group discussions.Results: One hundred and thirty-nine professionals from 43 organizations within eight TBI networks participated in the individual data collection; 62 professionals from these same organisations contributed to the group data collection. The extent of consensus based on questionnaire results (e.g. individual data collection was low, however, 100% agreement was obtained for each network during the consensus group sessions. The median importance scores and mean ranks attributed to the dimensions by individuals compared to groups did not differ greatly. Group discussions were found useful in understanding the reasons motivating the scoring, for resolving differences among participants, and for harmonizing their values.Conclusion: Group discussions, as part of a consensus technique, appear to be a useful process to reconcile diverging perceptions of network performance among stakeholders.

  13. Porter's generic strategies, strategic groups and firm performance in the construction industry : a complementary test

    OpenAIRE

    Molina Azorín, José Francisco; Quer Ramón, Diego

    2003-01-01

    A central theme in the strategic groups literature is that there is a theoretical relationship between groups and firm performance. However, the empirical evidence is conflicting. The aim of this research is to study this linkage through two analysis. Thus, the analysis that has been traditionally used (performance differences between groups) is complemented with an analysis of performance differences within each group. In order to set up strategic groups, we carry out an analysis about the...

  14. Overcoming the effects of stress on reactor operator performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He Xuhong; Wei Li; Zhao Bingquan

    2003-01-01

    Reactor operators may be exposed to significant levels of stress during plant emergencies and their performance may be affected by the stress. This paper first identified the potential sources of stress in the nuclear power plant, then discussed the ways in which stress is likely to affect the reactor operators, and finally identified several training approaches for reducing or eliminating stress effects. The challenges for effective stress reducing training may seem daunting, yet the challenges are real and must be addressed. This paper reviewed researches in training design, knowledge and skill acquisition, and training transfer point to a number of strategies that can be used to address these challenges and lead to more effective training and development. (author)

  15. Overcoming the effects of stress on reactor operator performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    He Xuhong; Wei Li; Zhao Bingquan [Tsinghua Univ., Nuclear Power Plant Simulation Training Center, Beijing (China)

    2003-03-01

    Reactor operators may be exposed to significant levels of stress during plant emergencies and their performance may be affected by the stress. This paper first identified the potential sources of stress in the nuclear power plant, then discussed the ways in which stress is likely to affect the reactor operators, and finally identified several training approaches for reducing or eliminating stress effects. The challenges for effective stress reducing training may seem daunting, yet the challenges are real and must be addressed. This paper reviewed researches in training design, knowledge and skill acquisition, and training transfer point to a number of strategies that can be used to address these challenges and lead to more effective training and development. (author)

  16. The Advanced Photon Source: Performance and results from early operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moncton, D.E.

    1997-01-01

    The Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory is now providing researchers with extreme-brilliance undulator radiation in the hard x-ray region of the spectrum. All technical facilities and components are operational and have met design specifications. Fourteen research teams, occupying 20 sectors on the APS experiment hall floor, are currently installing beamline instrumentation or actively taking data. An overview is presented for the first operational years of the Advanced Photon Source. Emphasis is on the performance of accelerators and insertion devices, as well as early scientific results and future plans

  17. Group Contribution Based Process Flowsheet Synthesis, Design and Modelling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    d'Anterroches, Loïc; Gani, Rafiqul

    2005-01-01

    In a group contribution method for pure component property prediction, a molecule is described as a set of groups linked together to form a molecular structure. In the same way, for flowsheet "property" prediction, a flowsheet can be described as a set of process-groups linked together to represent...... the flowsheet structure. Just as a functional group is a collection of atoms, a process-group is a collection of operations forming an "unit" operation or a set of "unit" operations. The link between the process-groups are the streams similar to the bonds that are attachments to atoms/groups. Each process-group...... provides a contribution to the "property" of the flowsheet, which can be performance in terms of energy consumption, thereby allowing a flowsheet "property" to be calculated, once it is described by the groups. Another feature of this approach is that the process-group attachments provide automatically...

  18. Operational Experience and Performance with the ATLAS Pixel detector

    CERN Document Server

    Martin, Christopher Blake; The ATLAS collaboration

    2018-01-01

    The tracking performance of the ATLAS detector relies critically on its 4-layer Pixel Detector, that has undergone significant hardware and software upgrades to meet the challenges imposed by the higher collision energy, pileup and luminosity that are being delivered by the Large Hadron Collider, with record breaking instantaneous luminosities of $1.3\\times10^{34}\\text{cm}^{{-2}}\\text{s}^{{-1}}$ recently surpassed. The key status and performance metrics of the ATLAS Pixel Detector are summarized, and the operational experience and requirements to ensure optimum data quality and data taking efficiency are described, with special emphasis to radiation damage experience.

  19. Operational Experience and Performance with the ATLAS Pixel detector

    CERN Document Server

    Martin, Christopher Blake; The ATLAS collaboration

    2018-01-01

    The tracking performance of the ATLAS detector relies critically on its 4-layer Pixel Detector, that has undergone significant hardware and software upgrades to meet the challenges imposed by the higher collision energy, pileup and luminosity that are being delivered by the Large Hadron Collider, with record breaking instantaneous luminosities of 1.3 x 10^34 cm-2 s-1 recently surpassed. The key status and performance metrics of the ATLAS Pixel Detector are summarised, and the operational experience and requirements to ensure optimum data quality and data taking efficiency are described, with special emphasis to radiation damage experience.

  20. Effects of cathode channel size and operating conditions on the performance of air-blowing PEMFCs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Bosung; Lee, Yongtaek; Woo, Ahyoung; Kim, Yongchan

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Effect of cathode channel size on the air-blowing PEMFC is analyzed. • Performance and EIS tests of air-blowing PEMFCs are conducted. • Test conditions include the operating temperature, fan voltage, and anode humidity. • Flooding is a limiting factor for decreasing channel size at low temperature. • Water management is investigated by analyzing ohmic resistance. - Abstract: Air-blowing proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have been developed as a potential new power source for portable electronic devices. However, air-blowing PEMFCs show lower performance than compressed-air PEMFCs because of their adverse operating conditions. In this study, the effects of the cathode channel size and operating conditions on the performance of the air-blowing PEMFC were analyzed. At the normal operating temperature, the performance of the air-blowing PEMFC improved with the decrease in the cathode channel size. However, at a low operating temperature and low fan voltage, massive flooding limits the decrease in the cathode channel size. In addition, water management in the air-blowing PEMFC was investigated by analyzing ohmic resistance. The transition current density between the humidification and the flooding region decreased with decreasing cathode channel size and operating temperature

  1. MOX and UOX PWR fuel performances EDF operating experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Provost, Jean-Luc; Debes, Michel

    2005-01-01

    Based on a large program of experimentations implemented during the 90s, the industrial achievement of new FAs designs with increased performances opens up new prospects. The currently UOX fuels used on the 58 EDF PWR units are now authorized up to a maximum FA burn-up of 52 GWd/t with a large experience from 45 to 50 GWd/t. Today, the new products, along with the progress made in the field of calculation methods, still enable to increase further the fuel performances with respect to the safety margins. Thus, the conditions are met to implement in the next years new fuel managements on each NPPs series of the EDF fleet with increased enrichment (up to 4.5%) and irradiation limits (up to 62 GWd/t). The recycling of plutonium is part of EDF's reprocessing/recycling strategy. Up to now, 20 PWR 900 MW reactors are managed in MOX hybrid management. The feedback experience of 18 years of PWR operation with MOX is satisfactory, without any specific problem regarding manoeuvrability or plant availability. EDF is now looking to introduce MOX fuels with a higher plutonium content (up to 8.6%) equivalent to natural uranium enriched to 3.7%. It is the goal of the MOX Parity core management which achieve balance of MOX and UOX fuel performance with a significant increase of the MOX average discharge burn-up (BU max: 52 GWd/t for MOX and UOX). The industrial maturity of new FAs designs, with increased performances, allows the implementation in the next years of new fuel managements on each NPPs series of the EDF fleet. The scheduling of the implementation of the new fuel managements on the PWRs fleet is a great challenge for EDF, with important stakes: the nuclear KWh cost decrease with the improvement of the plant operation performance. (author)

  2. Wastewater Facilities Operation and Management. Instructor Guide. Working for Clean Water: An Information Program for Advisory Groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Long, David A.

    Local communities must be willing to spend funds to assure the proper operation and management of wastewater treatment facilities. Designed for citizen advisory groups, the one-hour learning session described in this instructor's manual covers problem areas, federal requirements, and responsibilities for wastewater plant operations and management.…

  3. Influence of Preparatory Workshops on Dental Students' Academic Performance and Stress on Their First Operative Dentistry Psychomotor Exam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dilbone, Deborah A; Feng, Xiaoying; Su, Yu; Xirau-Probert, Patricia; Behar-Horenstein, Linda S; Nascimento, Marcelle M

    2018-06-01

    Predoctoral dental psychomotor examinations are known to generate high levels of stress among dental students, which may compromise their academic performance. At one U.S. dental school, all 93 first-year dental students were invited to attend a series of three workshop sessions prior to enrollment in their initial operative dentistry course. The workshops were developed to facilitate academic transition from the dental anatomy course to the operative dentistry course; provide early exposure to materials, instruments, and laboratory techniques; support the early development of psychomotor and self-assessment skills; and lessen students' stress and anxiety levels regarding psychomotor examinations. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the workshops on the students' academic performance and self-reported stress and preparedness. All students who attended the workshop sessions and all who did not were asked to complete a pre-exam survey (immediately preceding the exam) and a post-exam survey (immediately after the exam) on the day of their first operative dentistry psychomotor exam. Of the 93 students, 21 attended one, 34 attended two, and 25 attended three workshop sessions, while 13 students did not attend any. Response rates for the pre- and post-exam surveys were 100% and 98.9%, respectively. Students who attended all three workshop sessions reported being significantly less stressed about taking the exam than the other groups. The mean exam grade of students who attended the workshop sessions was significantly higher than that of students who did not attend the sessions. These findings support the development and implementation of preparatory workshops to improve academic performance and decrease the stress levels of dental students prior to the first operative dentistry psychomotor exam.

  4. CV controls from design to operation

    CERN Document Server

    Blanc, D

    2002-01-01

    The cooling and Ventilation (CV) group has emphasised the need to redefine its organisational structure at the end of 98. The main objective of this operation was to ensure the CV group to be more competitive and efficient through the growing tasks of the LHC projects. The main evolution given to this reorganisation is that the new structure is more project oriented and then operates on three distinct axes: Design, Work and Operation. Process control project management requires a complete and early interaction and participation of all the actors involved. This procedure to be efficient and constructive must be considered and performed not only during the design stage but along the project planning phases and must go beyond the completion work including the process control operation activity. The paper explains the present project management for process control. It describes the present constraints and gives suggestions to a different approach to these projects to improve performances and efficiency of a contr...

  5. Shining lights and bad apples : The effect of goal setting on group performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Curseu, P.L.; Janssen, S.E.A.; Meeus, M.T.H.

    2014-01-01

    Management education programs increasingly use group work as a tool for developing teamwork knowledge and skills. A critical factor identified in prior research to influence group performance in student groups is goal-setting. We test in a sample of 37 groups the effect of group goal configurations

  6. The Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery and LapVR evaluation metrics may not correlate with operative performance in a novice cohort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah N. Steigerwald

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Considerable resources have been invested in both low- and high-fidelity simulators in surgical training. The purpose of this study was to investigate if the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS, low-fidelity box trainer and LapVR (high-fidelity virtual reality training systems correlate with operative performance on the Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS global rating scale using a porcine cholecystectomy model in a novice surgical group with minimal laparoscopic experience. Methods: Fourteen postgraduate year 1 surgical residents with minimal laparoscopic experience performed tasks from the FLS program and the LapVR simulator as well as a live porcine laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Performance was evaluated using standardized FLS metrics, automatic computer evaluations, and a validated global rating scale. Results: Overall, FLS score did not show an association with GOALS global rating scale score on the porcine cholecystectomy. None of the five LapVR task scores were significantly associated with GOALS score on the porcine cholecystectomy. Conclusions: Neither the low-fidelity box trainer or the high-fidelity virtual simulator demonstrated significant correlation with GOALS operative scores. These findings offer caution against the use of these modalities for brief assessments of novice surgical trainees, especially for predictive or selection purposes.

  7. The Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery and LapVR evaluation metrics may not correlate with operative performance in a novice cohort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steigerwald, Sarah N.; Park, Jason; Hardy, Krista M.; Gillman, Lawrence; Vergis, Ashley S.

    2015-01-01

    Background Considerable resources have been invested in both low- and high-fidelity simulators in surgical training. The purpose of this study was to investigate if the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS, low-fidelity box trainer) and LapVR (high-fidelity virtual reality) training systems correlate with operative performance on the Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS) global rating scale using a porcine cholecystectomy model in a novice surgical group with minimal laparoscopic experience. Methods Fourteen postgraduate year 1 surgical residents with minimal laparoscopic experience performed tasks from the FLS program and the LapVR simulator as well as a live porcine laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Performance was evaluated using standardized FLS metrics, automatic computer evaluations, and a validated global rating scale. Results Overall, FLS score did not show an association with GOALS global rating scale score on the porcine cholecystectomy. None of the five LapVR task scores were significantly associated with GOALS score on the porcine cholecystectomy. Conclusions Neither the low-fidelity box trainer or the high-fidelity virtual simulator demonstrated significant correlation with GOALS operative scores. These findings offer caution against the use of these modalities for brief assessments of novice surgical trainees, especially for predictive or selection purposes. PMID:26641071

  8. A program for performing angular integrations for transition operators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Froese Fischer, C.; Godefroid, M.R.; Hibbert, A.

    1991-01-01

    The MCHF-MLTPOL program performs the angular integrations necessary for expressing the matrix elements of transition operators, E1, E2, ..., or M1, M2, ..., as linear combinations of radial integrals. All matrix elements for transitions between two lists of configuration states will be evaluated. A limited amount of non-orthogonality is allowed between orbitals of the initial and final state. (orig.)

  9. Operational Performance Risk Assessment in Support of A Supervisory Control System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Denning, Richard S. [Self Employed; Muhlheim, Michael David [ORNL; Cetiner, Sacit M. [ORNL; Guler Yigitoglu, Askin [ORNL

    2017-06-01

    Supervisory control system (SCS) is developed for multi-unit advanced small modular reactors to minimize human interventions in both normal and abnormal operations. In SCS, control action decisions made based on probabilistic risk assessment approach via Event Trees/Fault Trees. Although traditional PRA tools are implemented, their scope is extended to normal operations and application is reversed; success of non-safety related system instead failure of safety systems this extended PRA approach called as operational performance risk assessment (OPRA). OPRA helps to identify success paths, combination of control actions for transients and to quantify these success paths to provide possible actions without activating plant protection system. In this paper, a case study of the OPRA in supervisory control system is demonstrated within the context of the ALMR PRISM design, specifically power conversion system. The scenario investigated involved a condition that the feed water control valve is observed to be drifting to the closed position. Alternative plant configurations were identified via OPRA that would allow the plant to continue to operate at full or reduced power. Dynamic analyses were performed with a thermal-hydraulic model of the ALMR PRISM system using Modelica to evaluate remained safety margins. Successful recovery paths for the selected scenario are identified and quantified via SCS.

  10. Operator alertness and performance on 8-hour and 12-hour work shifts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, T.L.; Campbell, S.S.; Dawson, D.; Moore-Ede, M.

    1989-01-01

    Recently, much attention has been paid to the alertness and performance problems of rotational shiftworkers in the nuclear power industry. Growing awareness of higher rates of human errors and accidents on night shifts and reports of operations personnel falling asleep on the job have contributed to the heightened interest in this subject. The industry is now considering the effects of different shift rotation systems, including evaluation of the most recent of industry trends in shift scheduling-schedules that include 12 hour work shifts. Surveys show that within the past 5 years about 20% of commercially operational nuclear power plants have instituted schedules that use only 12 hour shifts, or schedules using a combination of 8-hour and 12-hour shifts. Many more plants routinely use 12-hour work shifts during plant outages and refueling operations. In response to this growing trend, the NRC has funded research which is a first attempt to compare alertness, operator performance, and sleep-wake patterns in subjects working simulated 8-hour and 12-hour shifts at the Human Alertness Research Center (HARC), located at the Institute of Circadian Physiology in Boston, MA. This paper will describe in greater detail the design of the study, measurement techniques for alertness and sleep, work routine, work task performance measures, and cognitive performance test protocols. It will review the role of circadian factors in human alertness and performance, and discuss previous research findings in this area. It will discuss other variables that are known to influence human alertness in the workplace, such as caffeine, alcohol, and working environment. The physiological basis for shift worker sleep problems will be explained in the context of the ongoing research project at HARC. Finally, the paper presents previous research on shift work and fatigue which may be relevant to a comparison of 8-hour and 12-hour shifts

  11. The Long-Term Operating Performance of European Mergers and Acquisitions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Martynova, M.; Oosting, S.; Renneboog, L.D.R.

    2006-01-01

    We investigate the long-term profitability of corporate takeovers of which both the acquiring and target companies are from Continental Europe or the UK.We employ four different measures of operating performance that allow us to overcome a number of measurement limitations of the previous

  12. Purex process operation and performance, 1970 Thoria Campaign

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jackson, R.R.; Walser, R.L.

    1977-03-01

    The Hanford Purex Plant fulfilled a 1970 commitment to the Atomic Energy Commission to produce 360 kilograms of high purity 233 U as uranyl nitrate solution. Overall plant performance during both 1970 and 1966 confirmed the suitability of Purex for processing thorium on a campaign basis. The 1970 processing campaign, including flushing operations, is discussed with particular emphasis on problem areas. Background information on the process and equipment used is also presented. The organizations and their designations described are those existing in 1970

  13. Performance analysis of Supply Chain Management with Supply Chain Operation reference model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasibuan, Abdurrozzaq; Arfah, Mahrani; Parinduri, Luthfi; Hernawati, Tri; Suliawati; Harahap, Bonar; Rahmah Sibuea, Siti; Krianto Sulaiman, Oris; purwadi, Adi

    2018-04-01

    This research was conducted at PT. Shamrock Manufacturing Corpora, the company is required to think creatively to implement competition strategy by producing goods/services that are more qualified, cheaper. Therefore, it is necessary to measure the performance of Supply Chain Management in order to improve the competitiveness. Therefore, the company is required to optimize its production output to meet the export quality standard. This research begins with the creation of initial dimensions based on Supply Chain Management process, ie Plan, Source, Make, Delivery, and Return with hierarchy based on Supply Chain Reference Operation that is Reliability, Responsiveness, Agility, Cost, and Asset. Key Performance Indicator identification becomes a benchmark in performance measurement whereas Snorm De Boer normalization serves to equalize Key Performance Indicator value. Analiytical Hierarchy Process is done to assist in determining priority criteria. Measurement of Supply Chain Management performance at PT. Shamrock Manufacturing Corpora produces SC. Responsiveness (0.649) has higher weight (priority) than other alternatives. The result of performance analysis using Supply Chain Reference Operation model of Supply Chain Management performance at PT. Shamrock Manufacturing Corpora looks good because its monitoring system between 50-100 is good.

  14. Vocal symptoms, voice activity, and participation profile and professional performance of call center operators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piwowarczyk, Tatiana Carvalho; Oliveira, Gisele; Lourenço, Luciana; Behlau, Mara

    2012-03-01

    To analyze the phonatory and laryngopharyngeal symptoms reported by call center operators; and quantify the impact of these symptoms on quality of life, and the association between these issues and professional performance, number of monthly calls, and number of missed workdays. Call center operators (n=157) from a billing call center completed the Vocal Signs and Symptoms Questionnaire and the Brazilian version of the Voice Activity and Participation Profile (VAPP). The company provided data regarding professional performance, average number of monthly calls, and number of missed workdays for each employee. The mean number of current symptoms (6.8) was greater in the operators than data for the general population (1.7). On average, 4.2 symptoms were attributed to occupational factors. The average number of symptoms did not correlate with professional performance (P=0.571). However, fewer symptoms correlated with decreased missed workdays and higher mean monthly call figures. The VAPP scores were relatively low, suggesting little impact of voice difficulties on call center operator's quality of life. However, subjects with elevated VAPP scores also had poorer professional performance. The presence of vocal symptoms does not necessarily relate to decreased professional performance. However, an association between higher vocal activity limitation and participation scores and poorer professional performance was observed. Copyright © 2012 The Voice Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. An Analysis of the Effect of Operations Management Practices on Performance

    OpenAIRE

    Battistoni, Elisa; Bonacelli, Andra; Fronzetti Colladon, Andrea; Schiraldi, Massimiliano M.

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we investigate the possible relationships among some optimization techniques used in Operations Management and the performance of SMEs that operate in the manufacturing sector. A model based on the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach is used to analyse a dataset of small and medium-sized Italian enterprises. The model is expressed by a system of simultaneous equations and is solved through regression analysis. Taking advantage of the contributions presented previously, ...

  16. NRC inspections of licensee activities to improve the performance of motor-operated valves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scarbrough, T.G.

    1992-01-01

    The NRC regulations require that components important to the safe operation of a nuclear power plant be treated in a manner that provides assurance of their proper performance. Despite these regulatory requirements, operating experience and research programs have raised concerns regarding the performance of motor-operated valves (MOVs) in nuclear power plants. In June 1990, the staff issued NUREG-1352, Action Plans for Motor-Operated Valves and Check Valves, which contains planned actions to organize the activities aimed at resolving the concerns about MOV performance. A significant task of the MOV action plan is the staff's review of the implementation of Generic Letter (GL) 89-10 (June 28, 1989), 'Safety-Related Motor-Operated Valve Testing and Surveillance,' and its supplements, by nuclear power plant licensees. The NRC staff has issued several supplements to GL 89-10 to provide additional guidance for use by licensees in responding to the generic letter. The NRC staff has conducted initial inspections of the GL 89-10 programs at most licensee facilities. This paper outlines some of the more significant findings of those inspections. For example, licensees who have begun differential pressure and flow testing have found some MOVs to require more thrust to operate than predicted by the standard industry equation with typical valve factors assumed in the past. The NRC staff has found weaknesses in licensee procedures for conducting the differential pressure and flow tests, the acceptance criteria for the tests in evaluating the capability of the MOV to perform its safety function under design basis conditions, and feedback of the test results into the methodology used by the licensee in predicting the thrust requirements for other MOVs. Some licensees have not made adequate progress toward resolving the MOV issue for their facilities within the recommended schedule of GL 89-10

  17. Operational safety performance indicator system at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant - Experience with indicator aggregation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mandula, J.

    2001-01-01

    The operational safety performance indicators serve as an important tool of performance monitoring and management at the Dukovany NPP. A software-supported system has been developed, which has included: data collection, central data storage, graphic output production and periodical report generation. Analyses of performance indicator trends together with evaluation in respect of annually updated target values and acceptance criteria are used for operational safety reviews forming an integral part of continual self-assessment process. This contribution has been focused on experience obtained during development of the operational safety assessment model using indicator aggregation. It summarises problems that had to be paid specific attention in the development process. Thanks to their solution, the model has become a synoptic monitor and a useful tool for operational safety assessment. (author)

  18. Matrix Elements of One- and Two-Body Operators in the Unitary Group Approach (I)-Formalism

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    DAI Lian-Rong; PAN Feng

    2001-01-01

    The tensor algebraic method is used to derive general one- and two-body operator matrix elements within the Un representations, which are useful in the unitary group approach to the configuration interaction problems of quantum many-body systems.

  19. Two ways related to performance in elite sport: the path of self-confidence and competitive anxiety and the path of group cohesion and group goal-clarity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kjørmo, Odd; Halvari, Hallgeir

    2002-06-01

    A model tested among 136 Norwegian Olympic-level athletes yielded two paths related to performance. The first path indicated that self-confidence, modeled as an antecedent of competitive anxiety, is negatively correlated with anxiety. Competitive anxiety in turn is negatively correlated with performance. The second path indicated that group cohesion is positively correlated with group goal-clarity, which in turn is positively correlated with performance. Competitive anxiety mediates the relation between self-confidence and performance, whereas group goal-clarity mediates the relation between group cohesion and performance. Results from multiple regression analyses supported the model in the total sample and among individual sport athletes organized in training groups (n = 100). Among team sport athletes (n = 36), personality and group measures are more strongly intercorrelated than among individual sport athletes, and the relation with performance is more complex for the former group. The interaction of self-confidence and competitive anxiety is related to performance among team sport athletes.

  20. The Performance Enhancement Group Program: Integrating Sport Psychology and Rehabilitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granito, Vincent J.; Hogan, Jeffery B.; Varnum, Lisa K.

    1995-01-01

    In an effort to improve the psychological health of the athlete who has sustained an injury, the Performance Enhancement Group program for injured athletes was created. This paper will offer a model for the Performance Enhancement Group program as a way to: 1) support the athlete, both mentally and physically; 2) deal with the demands of rehabilitation; and 3) facilitate the adjustments the athlete has to make while being out of the competitive arena. The program consists of responsibilities for professionals in sport psychology (ie, assessment/orientation, support, education, individual counseling, and evaluation) and athletic training (ie, organization/administration, recruitment and screening, support, application of techniques, and program compliance). The paper will emphasize that the success of the program is dependent on collaboration between professionals at all levels. PMID:16558357

  1. The Long-Term Operating Performance of European Mergers and Acquisitions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Martynova, M.; Oosting, S.; Renneboog, L.D.R.

    2006-01-01

    Abstract: We investigate the long-term profitability of corporate takeovers of which both the acquiring and target companies are from Continental Europe or the UK. We employ four different measures of operating performance that allow us to overcome a number of measurement limitations of the previous

  2. Learning Performance Enhancement Using Computer-Assisted Language Learning by Collaborative Learning Groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ya-huei Wang

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This study attempted to test whether the use of computer-assisted language learning (CALL and innovative collaborative learning could be more effective than the use of traditional collaborative learning in improving students’ English proficiencies. A true experimental design was used in the study. Four randomly-assigned groups participated in the study: a traditional collaborative learning group (TCLG, 34 students, an innovative collaborative learning group (ICLG, 31 students, a CALL traditional collaborative learning group (CALLTCLG, 32 students, and a CALL innovative collaborative learning group (CALLICLG, 31 students. TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication listening, reading, speaking, and writing pre-test and post-test assessments were given to all students at an interval of sixteen weeks. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA, and analysis of variance (ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that students who used CALL had significantly better learning performance than those who did not. Students in innovative collaborative learning had significantly better learning performances than those in traditional collaborative learning. Additionally, students using CALL innovative collaborative learning had better learning performances than those in CALL collaborative learning, those in innovative collaborative learning, and those in traditional collaborative learning.

  3. Operative Versus Non-operative Treatment of Grade III Acromioclavicular Joint Dislocations and the Use of SurgiLig: a Retrospective Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Younis, Fizan; Ajwani, Sanil; Bibi, Asia; Riley, Eleanor; Hughes, Peter J

    2017-12-30

    Acromioclavicular joint dislocations are common shoulder girdle injuries. The treatment of grade III acromioclavicular joint dislocations is controversial. Furthermore, the literature on the use of the Sur-giligTM synthetic ligament for reconstruction of dislocations is sparse. This retrospective review aimed to establish whether operative treatment was superior to non-operative treatment in grade III acromioclavicular joint dislocations treated at our institute over a 5-year period. We also reviewed the effectiveness of reconstruction with SurgiligTM after acute and chronic dislocations across all grades of acromioclavicular joint dislocations. Twenty-five patients completed full follow-up with grade III dislocations. The mean follow-up in the operated group was 3.56 years and in the non-operated group this was 3.29 years. The mean Oxford Shoul-der Score (OSS) in the operated group was 39.8, whereas the mean OSS in the non-operated group was 45.9 (p=0.01). The mean pain score in the operated group was 2.2, and in the non-operated group this was 1.6. The mean satisfaction score in the operated group was 8.2 and that in the non-operated group was 7.8. There was no statistically significant difference in pain or satisfaction scores. In respect to the cohort treated with Surg-iligTM synthetic ligament, 22 patients across all grades of dislocations had this procedure performed. The mean post-operative Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS) was 40. 1. Non-operative treatment is not inferior to operative treatment for grade III acromioclavicular joint dislocations. The data from this study demonstrat-ed that the non-operated group had superior Ox-ford Shoul-der Scores that were statistically significant. 2. Additionally, the use of the SurgiligTM ligament appears to be effective in treating both chronic and acute acromioclavicular joint dislocations.

  4. High-performance supercapacitors of carboxylate-modified hollow carbon nanospheres coated on flexible carbon fibre paper: Effects of oxygen-containing group contents, electrolytes and operating temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phattharasupakun, Nutthaphon; Wutthiprom, Juthaporn; Suktha, Phansiri; Iamprasertkun, Pawin; Chanlek, Narong; Shepherd, Celine; Hadzifejzovic, Emina; Moloney, Mark G.; Foord, John S.; Sawangphruk, Montree

    2017-01-01

    Although functionalized carbon-based materials have been widely used as the supercapacitor electrodes, the optimum contents of the functional groups, the charge storage mechanisms, and the effects of electrolytes and operating temperature have not yet been clearly investigated. In this work, carboxylate-modified hollow carbon nanospheres (c-HCN) with different functional group contents synthesized by an oxidation process of carbon nanospheres with nitric acid were coated on flexible carbon fibre paper and used as the supercapacitor electrodes. An as-fabricated supercapacitor of the c-HCN with a finely tuned 6.2 atomic % of oxygen of the oxygen-containing groups in an ionic liquid electrolyte exhibits a specific capacitance of 390 F g"−"1, a specific energy of 115 Wh kg"−"1, and a maximum specific power of 13548 W kg"−"1 at 70 °C. The charge storage mechanism investigated is based on the chemical adsorption of the ionic liquid electrolyte on the c-HCN electrode. This process is highly reversible leading to high capacity retention. The supercapacitor in this work may be practically used in many high energy and power applications.

  5. Towards artificial intelligence based diesel engine performance control under varying operating conditions using support vector regression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naradasu Kumar Ravi

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Diesel engine designers are constantly on the look-out for performance enhancement through efficient control of operating parameters. In this paper, the concept of an intelligent engine control system is proposed that seeks to ensure optimized performance under varying operating conditions. The concept is based on arriving at the optimum engine operating parameters to ensure the desired output in terms of efficiency. In addition, a Support Vector Machines based prediction model has been developed to predict the engine performance under varying operating conditions. Experiments were carried out at varying loads, compression ratios and amounts of exhaust gas recirculation using a variable compression ratio diesel engine for data acquisition. It was observed that the SVM model was able to predict the engine performance accurately.

  6. The effect of uncertainty and cooperative behavior on operational performance: Evidence from Brazilian firms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eliane Pereira Zamith Brito

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to examine the effect of managers’ uncertainty on cooperative behavior in interorganizational relationships, and how this affects operational performance. We conducted a survey with 225 Brazilian managers, and analyzed data using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Results present: a a negative influence of uncertainty of state on operational performance; b a positive influence of uncertainty of effect on uncertainty of response; c a significant influence of uncertainty of response on cooperative behavior; and d a positive influence of cooperative behavior on performance. The results indicated that cooperation and uncertainty accounted for 18.8% of the variability of operational performance. Considering the uncertainty that plagues Latin societies, this study can help to create more efficient ways to deal with the phenomenon. Rather than turning a blind eye to uncertainty, our study underscores it and treats it like another business environment issue.

  7. Performance of High Temperature Operational Amplifier, Type LM2904WH, under Extreme Temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, Richard; Hammoud, Ahmad; Elbuluk, Malik

    2008-01-01

    Operation of electronic parts and circuits under extreme temperatures is anticipated in NASA space exploration missions as well as terrestrial applications. Exposure of electronics to extreme temperatures and wide-range thermal swings greatly affects their performance via induced changes in the semiconductor material properties, packaging and interconnects, or due to incompatibility issues between interfaces that result from thermal expansion/contraction mismatch. Electronics that are designed to withstand operation and perform efficiently in extreme temperatures would mitigate risks for failure due to thermal stresses and, therefore, improve system reliability. In addition, they contribute to reducing system size and weight, simplifying its design, and reducing development cost through the elimination of otherwise required thermal control elements for proper ambient operation. A large DC voltage gain (100 dB) operational amplifier with a maximum junction temperature of 150 C was recently introduced by STMicroelectronics [1]. This LM2904WH chip comes in a plastic package and is designed specifically for automotive and industrial control systems. It operates from a single power supply over a wide range of voltages, and it consists of two independent, high gain, internally frequency compensated operational amplifiers. Table I shows some of the device manufacturer s specifications.

  8. Effects of operating temperature on the performance of vanadium redox flow batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, C.; Zhao, T.S.; Xu, Q.; An, L.; Zhao, G.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The effect of the operating temperature on the VRFB’s performance is studied. • The voltage efficiency and peak power density increases with temperature. • High temperatures aggravate the coulombic efficiency drop and the capacity decay. • The outcomes suggest that thermal management of operating VRFBs is essential. - Abstract: For an operating flow battery system, how the battery’s performance varies with ambient temperatures is of practical interest. To gain an understanding of the general thermal behavior of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs), we devised and tested a laboratory-scale single VRFB by varying the operating temperature. The voltage efficiency of the VRFB is found to increase from 86.5% to 90.5% at 40 mA/cm 2 when the operating temperature is increased from 15 °C to 55 °C. The peak discharge power density is also observed to increase from 259.5 mW/cm 2 to 349.8 mW/cm 2 at the same temperature increment. The temperature increase, however, leads to a slight decrease in the coulombic efficiency from 96.2% to 93.7% at the same temperature increments. In addition, the capacity degradation rate is found to be higher at higher temperatures

  9. Transactional approach in assessment of operational performance of companies in transport infrastructure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dubrovsky, V.; Yaroshevich, N.; Kuzmin, E.

    2016-07-01

    Offer an alternative method to assess operational performance of companies in transport infrastructure of a region by making a comparison between transaction costs. The method is supposed to be a cross-functional and possibly applied to an analysis of economic entities of a different order (country, region, sector, companies) while evaluating “viscosity” / complexity of the outside and the inside. The paper includes an analysis of various methodological approaches to assess a development level of the transport infrastructure in a region. Within the author's approach and for purposed of the research, an index of transaction capacity or the transactionalness index is proposed, which determines a level of transaction costs calculated against the cost of production and revenue. The approach is piloted using the region-wise consolidated financial data of companies involved in the Russian transport infrastructure for 2005/2013. The proposed alternative way to measure corporate operating efficiency has proved its academic consistency. A specific comparison between the transaction costs using the transactionalness index allows first to identify companies or regions/sectors, where there is excess complexity of economical communication in bargaining. Secondly, the index does not only point out indirectly to a degree of development in the institutional environment, but also the infrastructure (the transport one in the example given). Third, the transactionalness level may say of uncertainty and risks. As an addition to theoretical and methodological aspects of transaction costs, the authors justify an approach to their size estimation, as well as their differentiation dividing them into two groups: those of a natural type and a background type. In a course of their discussion, the authors have concluded that there are such transaction costs in place, which are standard in a manner of speaking. There is a discussion whether it is scientifically reasonable to use an

  10. Wavy channel transistor for area efficient high performance operation

    KAUST Repository

    Fahad, Hossain M.

    2013-04-05

    We report a wavy channel FinFET like transistor where the channel is wavy to increase its width without any area penalty and thereby increasing its drive current. Through simulation and experiments, we show the effectiveness of such device architecture is capable of high performance operation compared to conventional FinFETs with comparatively higher area efficiency and lower chip latency as well as lower power consumption.

  11. Neurological surgery: the influence of physical and mental demands on humans performing complex operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourne, Sarah K; Walcott, Brian P; Sheth, Sameer A; Coumans, Jean-Valery C E

    2013-03-01

    Performing neurological surgery is an inherently demanding task on the human body, both physically and mentally. Neurosurgeons routinely perform "high stakes" operations in the setting of mental and physical fatigue. These conditions may be not only the result of demanding operations, but also influential to their outcome. Similar to other performance-based endurance activities, training is paramount to successful outcomes. The inflection point, where training reaches the point of diminishing returns, is intensely debated. For the neurosurgeon, this point must be exploited to the maximum, as patients require both the best-trained and best-performing surgeon. In this review, we explore the delicate balance of training and performance, as well as some routinely used adjuncts to improve human performance. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Effects of extended lay-off periods on performance and operator trust under adaptable automation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chavaillaz, Alain; Wastell, David; Sauer, Jürgen

    2016-03-01

    Little is known about the long-term effects of system reliability when operators do not use a system during an extended lay-off period. To examine threats to skill maintenance, 28 participants operated twice a simulation of a complex process control system for 2.5 h, with an 8-month retention interval between sessions. Operators were provided with an adaptable support system, which operated at one of the following reliability levels: 60%, 80% or 100%. Results showed that performance, workload, and trust remained stable at the second testing session, but operators lost self-confidence in their system management abilities. Finally, the effects of system reliability observed at the first testing session were largely found again at the second session. The findings overall suggest that adaptable automation may be a promising means to support operators in maintaining their performance at the second testing session. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  13. Research on the Impact of Ownership Structure to Operation Performance of the Chinese Listed Port Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bao Jiang

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The ownership structure which has a huge impact on company operation performance is the foundation of corporate governance structure choice. At present, the number of China's listed port companies is the largest in the world; however, they have a very complex ownership structure. This study discusses the impact of ownership structure on the operation performance of the Chinese ports. This empirical research applies factor analysis to evaluate the operation performance of listed port companies, and then adopts linear regression analysis based on the evaluation results to explore the impact of ownership structure to operation performance. Finally, it proposes recommendations for optimizing the ownership structure of listed port companies, in order to promote a better and faster development of China's port industry. The empirical results show that for most of the listed port companies, the largest shareholder is in the absolute controlling position, and the gap between the largest shareholder and the second largest shareholder is very large, which means the ownership concentration is relatively high. Meanwhile, the top five shareholders equity ratio squared is in negative correlation with operation performance.

  14. Experience in performing trends and patterns analysis of nuclear power plant operational data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novak, T.M.; Williams, M.H.; Dennig, R.L.

    1990-01-01

    The Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data (AEOD) of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) has conducted a formal trends and patterns program since 1982. Since that time, the methods and end products of the program have evolved through experience and changes in the environment for trends and patterns analysis, i.e., increasing regulatory emphasis on operations and balance of plant performance, emergence of performance indicators, the availability of personal computer hardware and software to perform analysis, and changes in the information reported to the USNRC. This paper discusses the technical milestones of the AEOD trends and patterns program in terms of: 1) Sources of operational data, e.g., pre- and post- 1984 Licensee Event Reports, NPRDS, 2) Data storage and retrieval, e.g., Sequence Coding and Search System (SCSS), 3) Statistical methods, e.g., contingency table analysis, 4) Types of results. The paper summarizes the major lessons learned in the process of implementing a trends and patterns program and outlines future direction

  15. Behavioral and biological interactions with small groups in confined microsocieties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, J. V.; Emurian, H. H.

    1982-01-01

    Requirements for high levels of human performance in the unfamiliar and stressful environments associated with space missions necessitate the development of research-based technological procedures for maximizing the probability of effective functioning at all levels of personnel participation. Where the successful accomplishment of such missions requires the coordinated contributions of several individuals collectively identified with the achievement of a common objective, the conditions for characterizing a team, crew, or functional group are operationally defined. For the most part, studies of group performances under operational conditions which emphasize relatively long exposure to extended mission environments have been limited by the constraints imposed on experimental manipulations to identify critical effectiveness factors. On the other hand, laboratory studies involving relatively brief exposures to contrived task situations have been considered of questionable generality to operational settings requiring realistic group objectives.

  16. Principles, operations, and expected performance of the LISA Pathfinder charge management system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ziegler, T [Astrium GmbH, 88039 Friedrichshafen (Germany); Fichter, W [iFR, Universitaet Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 7a, 70569 Stuttgart (Germany); Schulte, M [Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BZ (United Kingdom); Vitale, S, E-mail: tobias.ziegler@astrium.eads.ne [Department of Physics, University of Trento, 38050 Povo, Trento (Italy)

    2009-03-01

    The test masses of LISA Pathfinder are free flying and therefore not grounded to the spacecraft by a wire. Because of galactic cosmic rays, solar energetic particles, and unknown microscopic surface effects during initial test mass release, an unacceptable level of absolute charge might be present on the test masses. A charged test mass can endanger transition to high accuracy control modes which are required for science experiments. Furthermore, charged test masses introduce unwanted disturbance accelerations for example due to Coulomb interactions with surrounding conducting surfaces. The charge management system is designed to discharge the test masses up to a tolerable level of absolute charge such that the mission goal can be achieved. It is therefore an essential part of the experiments to be performed with the LISA Technology Package. The paper describes charge management tasks to be performed on board the spacecraft and summarizes the principles of charge measurement and discharge control. An overview of the experiment operations is given where the interconnection of operational charge management system modes and operational modes of the drag-free, suspension and attitude control system is considered. Simulated performance results are presented.

  17. Cognitive modeling and dynamic probabilistic simulation of operating crew response to complex system accidents. Part 2: IDAC performance influencing factors model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Y.H.J.; Mosleh, A.

    2007-01-01

    This is the second in a series of five papers describing the information, decision, and action in crew context (IDAC) model for human reliability analysis. An example application of this modeling technique is also discussed in this series. The model is developed to probabilistically predict the responses of the nuclear power plant control room operating crew in accident conditions. The operator response spectrum includes cognitive, psychological, and physical activities during the course of an accident. This paper identifies the IDAC set of performance influencing factors (PIFs), providing their definitions and causal organization in the form of a modular influence diagram. Fifty PIFs are identified to support the IDAC model to be implemented in a computer simulation environment. They are classified into eleven hierarchically structured groups. The PIFs within each group are independent to each other; however, dependencies may exist between PIFs within different groups. The supporting evidence for the selection and organization of the influence paths based on psychological literature, observations, and various human reliability analysis methodologies is also indicated

  18. Recent progress in EAST towards long-pulse high-performance operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Liang; Wan Baonian; Li Jiangang; Guo Houyang; Liang Yunfeng; Xu Guosheng; Gong Xianzu; Garofalo, Andrea

    2015-01-01

    Significant advance has been made in EAST on both physics and technology fronts towards the long-pulse operation of high-confinement plasma regimes since the last IAEA-FEC. The EAST capabilities have been greatly upgraded, including the significantly enhanced CW H and CD system with up to 26 MW heating power, more than 70 diagnostics, ITER-like W monoblock top divertor, two internal cryo-pumps and RMP coils, enabling EAST to investigate long-pulse H-mode operation with dominant electron heating and low input torque, and to address some of critical issues for ITER. Remarkable physics progress has been made on controlling transient ELM and stationary divertor heat fluxes, e.g., ELM mitigation/suppression/pacing with LHCD and SMBI, real-time Li aerosol injection for long pulse ELM-free H-mode, edge coherent mode for continuous pedestal particle and power removal, and the combination of LHCD and SMBI to actively modify the stationary power footprint by regulating the divertor conditions. In the 2014 commissioning campaign, long-pulse high-performance H-mode up to 28 s has been obtained with H_9_8∼1.15, i.e., about ∼ 30% higher than the record 32 s H-mode achieved in the 2012 campaign. Other key new experimental achievements are: (1) high performance H-mode with β_N ∼ 2 and plasma stored energy ∼ 220 kJ, (2) high performance operation with core T_e ∼ 4.5 keV, (3) H-mode plasma enabled by NBI alone or LHW+NBI modulation for the first time in EAST, (4) demonstration of a quasi snowflake divertor configuration, (5) new findings on L-H transition and pedestal physics. (author)

  19. Are we on the same page? The performance effects of congruence between supervisor and group trust.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Min Z; Mossholder, Kevin W

    2015-09-01

    Taking a multiple-stakeholder perspective, we examined the effects of supervisor-work group trust congruence on groups' task and contextual performance using a polynomial regression and response surface analytical framework. We expected motivation experienced by work groups to mediate the positive influence of trust congruence on performance. Although hypothesized congruence effects on performance were more strongly supported for affective rather than for cognitive trust, we found significant indirect effects on performance (via work group motivation) for both types of trust. We discuss the performance effects of trust congruence and incongruence between supervisors and work groups, as well as implications for practice and future research. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Performance and operation experience of the Atlas Semiconductor Tracker

    CERN Document Server

    Liang, Z; The ATLAS collaboration

    2013-01-01

    We report on the operation and performance of the ATLAS Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT), which has been functioning for 3 years in the high luminosity, high radiation environment of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. We’ll also report on the few improvements of the SCT foreseen for the high energy run of the LHC. The SCT is constructed of 4088 silicon detector modules, for a total of 6.3 million strips. Each module operates as a stand-alone unit, mechanically, electrically, optically and thermally. The modules are mounted into two types of structures: one barrel, made of 4 cylinders, and two end-cap systems made of 9 disks. The SCT silicon micro-strip sensors are processed in the planar p-in-n technology. The signals are processed in the front-end ABCD3TA ASICs, which use a binary readout architecture. Data is transferred to the off-detector readout electronics via optical fibres. We find 99.3% of the SCT modules are operational, the noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specifications; the alig...

  1. Performance-Based Outcomes after Operative Management of Athletic Pubalgia / Core Muscle Injury in National Football League Players

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynch, Thomas Sean; Kosanovic, Radomir; Gibbs, Daniel Bradley; Park, Caroline; Bedi, Asheesh; Larson, Christopher M.; Ahmad, Christopher S.

    2017-01-01

    Objectives: Athletic pubalgia is a condition in which there is an injury to the core musculature that precipitates groin and lower abdominal pain, particularly in cutting and pivoting sports. These are common injury patterns in the National Football League (NFL); however, the effect of surgery on performance for these players has not been described. Methods: Athletes in the NFL that underwent a surgical procedure for athletic pubalgia / core muscle injury (CMI) were identified through team injury reports and archives on public record since 2004. Outcome data was collected for athletes who met inclusion criteria which included total games played after season of injury / surgery, number of Pro Bowls voted to, yearly total years and touchdowns for offensive players and yearly total tackles sacks and interceptions for defensive players. Previously validated performance scores were calculated using this data for each player one season before and after their procedure for a CMI. Athletes were then matched to control professional football players without a diagnosis of athletic pubalgia by age, position, year and round drafted. Statistical analysis was used to compare pre-injury and post-injury performance measures for players treated with operative management to their case controls. Results: The study group was composed of 32 NFL athletes who underwent operative management for athletic pubalgia that met inclusion criteria during this study period, including 18 offensive players and 16 defensive players. The average age of athletes undergoing this surgery was 27 years old. Analysis of pre- and post-injury athletic performance revealed no statistically significant changes after return to sport after surgical intervention; however, there was a statistically significant difference in the number of Pro Bowls that affected athletes participated in before surgery (8) compared to the season after surgery (3). Analysis of durability, as measured by total number of games played

  2. Linking Keystone Species and Functional Groups: A New Operational Definition of the Keystone Species Concept

    OpenAIRE

    Robert D. Davic

    2003-01-01

    The concept of the "keystone species" is redefined to allow for the a priori prediction of these species within ecosystems. A keystone species is held to be a strongly interacting species whose top-down effect on species diversity and competition is large relative to its biomass dominance within a functional group. This operational definition links the community importance of keystone species to a specific ecosystem process, e.g., the regulation of species diversity, within functional groups ...

  3. PyOperators: Operators and solvers for high-performance computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chanial, P.; Barbey, N.

    2012-12-01

    PyOperators is a publicly available library that provides basic operators and solvers for small-to-very large inverse problems ({http://pchanial.github.com/pyoperators}). It forms the backbone of the package PySimulators, which implements specific operators to construct an instrument model and means to conveniently represent a map, a timeline or a time-dependent observation ({http://pchanial.github.com/pysimulators}). Both are part of the Tamasis (Tools for Advanced Map-making, Analysis and SImulations of Submillimeter surveys) toolbox, aiming at providing versatile, reliable, easy-to-use, and optimal map-making tools for Herschel and future generation of sub-mm instruments. The project is a collaboration between 4 institutes (ESO Garching, IAS Orsay, CEA Saclay, Univ. Leiden).

  4. Mixed - mode Operating System for Real - time Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasan M. M.

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the mixed-mode system research is to handle devices with the accuracy of real-time systems and at the same time, having all the benefits and facilities of a matured Graphic User Interface(GUIoperating system which is typicallynon-real-time. This mixed-mode operating system comprising of a real-time portion and a non-real-time portion was studied and implemented to identify the feasibilities and performances in practical applications (in the context of scheduled the real-time events. In this research an i8751 microcontroller-based hardware was used to measure the performance of the system in real-time-only as well as non-real-time-only configurations. The real-time portion is an 486DX-40 IBM PC system running under DOS-based real-time kernel and the non-real-time portion is a Pentium IIIbased system running under Windows NT. It was found that mixed-mode systems performed as good as a typical real-time system and in fact, gave many additional benefits such as simplified/modular programming and load tolerance.

  5. Technical support for nuclear power operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-04-01

    This report prepared by the group of senior experts from nuclear operating organizations in Member states, addresses the problem of improving the operating performance of nuclear power plants. Safe and reliable operation is essential for strengthening the viability of nuclear power in the increasingly competitive market of electric power. Basic principles and requirements concerning technical procedures and developed practices are discussed. Report reflects the best current international practices and presents those management initiatives that go beyond the mandated regulatory compliance and could lead to enhancement od operational safety and improved plant performance. By correlating experiences and presenting collective effective practices it is meant to assist nuclear power plant managers in achieving improvement in operation through the contribution of effective technical support

  6. Status report on the land processes aircraft science management operations working group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawless, James G.; Mann, Lisa J.

    1991-01-01

    Since its inception three years ago, the Land Processes Aircraft Science Management Operations Working Group (MOWG) provided recommendations on the optimal use of the Agency's aircraft in support of the Land Processes Science Program. Recommendations covered topics such as aircraft and sensor usage, development of long-range plans, Multisensor Airborne Campaigns (MAC), program balance, aircraft sensor databases, new technology and sensor development, and increased University scientist participation in the program. Impacts of these recommendations improved the efficiency of various procedures including the flight request process, tracking of flight hours, and aircraft usage. The group also created a bibliography focused on publications produced by Land Processes scientists from the use of the aircraft program, surveyed NASA funded PI's on their participation in the aircraft program, and developed a planning template for multi-sensor airborne campaigns. Benefits from these activities are summarized.

  7. Inter-plant coordination and its relationships with supply chain integration and operational performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Cheng; Chaudhuri, Atanu; Farooq, Sami

    2016-01-01

    Based on the data obtained from the sixth version of International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS VI), this paper explores the relationships at the level of plant between (1) inter-plant coordination and operational performance, and (2) between inter-plant coordination and internal/external ......Based on the data obtained from the sixth version of International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS VI), this paper explores the relationships at the level of plant between (1) inter-plant coordination and operational performance, and (2) between inter-plant coordination and internal...

  8. Performance and operation experience of the ATLAS SemiConductor Tracker

    CERN Document Server

    Robichaud Veronneau, A; The ATLAS collaboration

    2014-01-01

    After more than 3 years of successful operation at the LHC, we report on the operation and performance of the SemiConductor Tracker (SCT) functioning in a high luminosity, high radiation environment. The SCT is part of the ATLAS experiment at CERN and is constructed of 4088 silicon detector modules for a total of 6.3 million strips. Each module is designed, constructed and tested to operate as a stand-alone unit, mechanically, electrically, optically and thermally. The modules are mounted into two types of structures: one barrel (4 cylinders) and two end-cap systems (9 disks on each end of the barrel). The SCT silicon micro-strip sensors were produced in the planar p-in-n technology. The signals are processed in the front-end ABCD3TA ASICs, which use a binary readout architecture. Data is transferred to the off-detector readout electronics via optical fibers. We find 99.3% of the SCT modules are operational, noise occupancy and hit efficiency exceed the design specifications; the alignment is very close to th...

  9. Improving the international system for operating experience feedback. INSAG-23. A report by the International Nuclear Safety Group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    The operational safety performance of nuclear facilities has, in general, improved notably over time throughout the world. This has been achieved, in part, through operating experience feedback (OEF) and the introduction of new technology. While the continued strong safety performance by operators is encouraging, safety significant events continue to recur in nuclear installations. This indicates that operators are not learning and applying the lessons that experience can teach us. This report focuses on systems that are operated by intergovernmental organizations with close contacts to national regulatory authorities. These systems provide an alternative network to the worldwide system employed by the operators of nuclear facilities known as the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO). The WANO system is restricted to its members, who have concluded that keeping the information exchanged confidential improves its usefulness. INSAG recognizes the merits of this approach, particularly in light of the primary responsibility of licensed operators for the safety of their facilities. Nevertheless, INSAG encourages WANO to share key safety lessons with national regulatory authorities and intergovernmental organization

  10. The ATLAS Semi-Conductor Tracker Operation and Performance

    CERN Document Server

    Robinson, D; The ATLAS collaboration

    2012-01-01

    The Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT), is a silicon strip detector and one of the key precision tracking devices in the Inner Detector of the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The SCT was installed and commissioned within ATLAS in 2007, and has been has been used to fully exploit the physics potential of the LHC since the first proton-proton collisions at 7 TeV were delivered in 2009. In this paper, its operational status throughout data taking up to the end of 2011 is presented, and its tracking performance is reviewed.

  11. Influence of stereoscopic vision on task performance with an operating microscope

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nibourg, Lisanne M.; Wanders, Wouter; Cornelissen, Frans W.; Koopmans, Steven A.

    PURPOSE: To determine the extent to which stereoscopic depth perception influences the performance of tasks executed under an operating microscope. SETTING: Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands. DESIGN: Experimental study. METHODS: Medical

  12. Human Performance in Continuous Operations. Volume 3. Technical Documentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    1980-03-01

    completed for the U. S. Commander, V Corps. Artillery, by Manning (1978). Manning collected information which bears on the following three questions: 0 Can...performance data were not collected in these pre- liminary studies. Field Studies of Continuous Tank OperationsLI __ _ _ __ _ _ _ To simulate a combat...on routine, monotonous tasks tends A show rapid and severe decrement after peri- odk of more than 24 hours without sleep. I Increasing task complexity

  13. Improvement of operational performance and increase of safety of WWER-1000/V-392

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurakov, Y.A.; Dragunov, Y.G.; Podshibiakin, A.K.; Fil, N.S.; Krushelnitsky, V.N.; Berkovich, V.M.

    2001-01-01

    The national programme of nuclear power development approved by the Russian Federation Government in 1998 considers the design of WWER-1000/V-392 power unit as a priority project of the new generation NPP with improved operational performances and increased safety. The pilot unit of this design (NVAES-2) is licensed for construction at the Novovoronezh NPP site. The NVAES-2 design is developed on the basis of standard power unit with reactor plant V-320. Twenty units of this type are in operation at the nuclear power plants in Russia, Ukraine and Bulgaria having totally about 270 reactor-years of operation. Two more V-320 units are being commissioned this year at Rostov NPP and Temelin NPP. So, the WWER-1000/V-392 design is as a whole an evolutionary development of the operating standard unit WWER-1000/V-320. Many technical solutions aimed at increase of safety and improvement of operational performance of the plant are implemented in the NVAES-2 design, such as advanced reactor WWER-1000, passive system of residual power removal, passive system of the core flooding under loss-of-coolant accidents, and others. NVAES-2 design refers to a class of advanced light water reactors and corresponds to the international requirements imposed to the nuclear power plants to be put into operation after the year 2000. New V-392 power unit has a good perspective from the view point of extensive implementation in the framework of the nuclear electricity production in Russia. Design decisions on NVAES-2 power unit with WWER-1000/V-392 reactor plant which assure significantly higher safety level and improve economical performance as compared to the operating WWER-1000 units are briefly considered in the present paper. (author)

  14. Comparison of the effect of paper and computerized procedures on operator error rate and speed of performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Converse, S.A.; Perez, P.B.; Meyer, S.; Crabtree, W.

    1994-01-01

    The Computerized Procedures Manual (COPMA-II) is an advanced procedure manual that can be used to select and execute procedures, to monitor the state of plant parameters, and to help operators track their progress through plant procedures. COPMA-II was evaluated in a study that compared the speed and accuracy of operators' performance when they performed with COPMA-II and traditional paper procedures. Sixteen licensed reactor operators worked in teams of two to operate the Scales Pressurized Water Reactor Facility at North Carolina State University. Each team performed one change of power with each type of procedure to simulate performance under normal operating conditions. Teams then performed one accident scenario with COPMA-II and one with paper procedures. Error rates, performance times, and subjective estimates of workload were collected, and were evaluated for each combination of procedure type and scenario type. For the change of power task, accuracy and response time were not different for COPMA-II and paper procedures. Operators did initiate responses to both accident scenarios fastest with paper procedures. However, procedure type did not moderate response completion time for either accident scenario. For accuracy, performance with paper procedures resulted in twice as many errors as did performance with COPMA-II. Subjective measures of mental workload for the accident scenarios were not affected by procedure type

  15. The impact of customer-based brand equity on the operational performance of FMCG companies in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bijuna C. Mohan

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Measurement of brand equity has posed a big challenge to the companies in the Indian fast moving consumer goods (FMCG industry. This paper investigates the impact of brand equity on the operational performance of businesses in the Indian FMCG industry. The research study adopts descriptive and exploratory approaches. The results indicate that there is correlation between brand equity and operational performance of business. The practical implications of the findings are that brand equity has to be effectively managed for improved operational performance of business.

  16. Enhanced Engine Performance During Emergency Operation Using a Model-Based Engine Control Architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Csank, Jeffrey T.; Connolly, Joseph W.

    2016-01-01

    This paper discusses the design and application of model-based engine control (MBEC) for use during emergency operation of the aircraft. The MBEC methodology is applied to the Commercial Modular Aero-Propulsion System Simulation 40k (CMAPSS40k) and features an optimal tuner Kalman Filter (OTKF) to estimate unmeasured engine parameters, which can then be used for control. During an emergency scenario, normally-conservative engine operating limits may be relaxed to increase the performance of the engine and overall survivability of the aircraft; this comes at the cost of additional risk of an engine failure. The MBEC architecture offers the advantage of estimating key engine parameters that are not directly measureable. Estimating the unknown parameters allows for tighter control over these parameters, and on the level of risk the engine will operate at. This will allow the engine to achieve better performance than possible when operating to more conservative limits on a related, measurable parameter.

  17. Operational performance of the Avispa-IIE wind generator in microhybrid systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gonzalez Galarza, Raul; Mejia Neri, Fortino [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Cuernavaca (Mexico)

    1997-12-31

    The purpose of this paper is to make a general analysis over the operational performance of the Avispa-IIE wind generator in an Solar-Eolic hybrid installation, at an eco-tourist resort. This work was performed through the monitor of the wind generator and the system itself throughout a year, for the acquisition taking the variables of interest and operational parameters that might allow to characterize and to evaluate the general behavior of the system. Herein are the principals characteristics of the wind generator; its performance curve, the basic configuration of the installation and the control philosophy; Likewise, some technical and human problems which arise during the operation of the system are included, the implementation of improvements in the wind generator and the general results acquired during the time of operation of the wind generator in the cited installations. [Espanol] El proposito de este articulo es el hacer un analisis general del comportamiento operacional del aerogenerador Avispa-IIE en una instalacion hibrida Solar-Eolica en un lugar de veraneo eco-turistico. Este trabajo ha sido llevado a cabo mediante el monitor del aerogenerador y el sistema mismo por espacio de un ano, para la adquisicion de las variables de interes y de los parametros operacionales que pudieran servir para caracterizar y evaluar el comportamiento general del sistema. Aqui se incluyen las caracteristicas principales del aerogenerador; su curva de comportamiento, la configuracion basica de la instalacion y la filosofia del control. De la misma manera se incluyen algunos problemas tecnicos y humanos que se originan durante la operacion del sistema y la puesta en practica de las mejoras del aerogenerador y los resultados generales adquiridos durante el tiempo de operacion del aerogenerador en las instalaciones citadas.

  18. Operational performance of the Avispa-IIE wind generator in microhybrid systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gonzalez Galarza, Raul; Mejia Neri, Fortino [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Cuernavaca (Mexico)

    1998-12-31

    The purpose of this paper is to make a general analysis over the operational performance of the Avispa-IIE wind generator in an Solar-Eolic hybrid installation, at an eco-tourist resort. This work was performed through the monitor of the wind generator and the system itself throughout a year, for the acquisition taking the variables of interest and operational parameters that might allow to characterize and to evaluate the general behavior of the system. Herein are the principals characteristics of the wind generator; its performance curve, the basic configuration of the installation and the control philosophy; Likewise, some technical and human problems which arise during the operation of the system are included, the implementation of improvements in the wind generator and the general results acquired during the time of operation of the wind generator in the cited installations. [Espanol] El proposito de este articulo es el hacer un analisis general del comportamiento operacional del aerogenerador Avispa-IIE en una instalacion hibrida Solar-Eolica en un lugar de veraneo eco-turistico. Este trabajo ha sido llevado a cabo mediante el monitor del aerogenerador y el sistema mismo por espacio de un ano, para la adquisicion de las variables de interes y de los parametros operacionales que pudieran servir para caracterizar y evaluar el comportamiento general del sistema. Aqui se incluyen las caracteristicas principales del aerogenerador; su curva de comportamiento, la configuracion basica de la instalacion y la filosofia del control. De la misma manera se incluyen algunos problemas tecnicos y humanos que se originan durante la operacion del sistema y la puesta en practica de las mejoras del aerogenerador y los resultados generales adquiridos durante el tiempo de operacion del aerogenerador en las instalaciones citadas.

  19. Theoretical Model for the Performance of Liquid Ring Pump Based on the Actual Operating Cycle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Si Huang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Liquid ring pump is widely applied in many industry fields due to the advantages of isothermal compression process, simple structure, and liquid-sealing. Based on the actual operating cycle of “suction-compression-discharge-expansion,” a universal theoretical model for performance of liquid ring pump was established in this study, to solve the problem that the theoretical models deviated from the actual performance in operating cycle. With the major geometric parameters and operating conditions of a liquid ring pump, the performance parameters such as the actual capacity for suction and discharge, shaft power, and global efficiency can be conveniently predicted by the proposed theoretical model, without the limitation of empiric range, performance data, or the detailed 3D geometry of pumps. The proposed theoretical model was verified by experimental performances of liquid ring pumps and could provide a feasible tool for the application of liquid ring pump.

  20. Effect of "group spell" upon Shotokan black-belt performance of Heian kata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Layton, C; Moran, P

    1999-10-01

    11 experienced black-belt subjects were individually timed on each of the five Heian kata and then timed again when performing as part of a group. The pull of the group had a significant effect upon timing on two of the kata.

  1. COMMISSIONING AND DETECTOR PERFORMANCE GROUPS (DPG)

    CERN Multimedia

    L. Malgeri

    2010-01-01

    The last six months have been very intense for run coordination as this period corresponds to the time most of the LHC luminosity has been delivered. The pace imposed by the LHC has marked the operation of the CMS detector and data logging: the luminosity has on average doubled every 10 days. Sometimes, this has strained our activities: the trigger teams, both Level-1 and HLT, have been in the trenches to cope with the spectacular LHC performance in order to keep the thresholds as low as possible for e/γs and jet triggers in order to make the physics community profit as much as possible from the data delivered. The constant effort to stay at the edge of our possibilities (essentially stay at or below 70 kHz for the first level trigger rates and below 600 Hz logging rates) has paid off in the end. Examples are the beautiful di-muon and di-electron invariant mass distributions where we are able, for instance, to detect low mass resonance like the h in the di-muon decay channel which has branching rat...

  2. Improving Operational Risk Management Using Business Performance Management Technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bram Pieket Weeserik

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Operational Risk Management (ORM comprises the continuous management of risks resulting from: human actions, internal processes, systems, and external events. With increasing requirements, complexity and a growing volume of risks, information systems provide benefits for integrating risk management activities and optimizing performance. Business Performance Management (BPM technologies are believed to provide a solution for effective Operational Risk Management by offering several combined technologies including: work flow, data warehousing, (advanced analytics, reporting and dashboards. BPM technologies can be integrated with an organization’s Planning & Control cycle and related to strategic objectives. This manuscript aims to show how ORM can benefit from BPM technologies via the development and practical validation of a new maturity model. The B4ORM maturity model was developed following the Design Science Research approach. The maturity model relates specific maturity levels of ORM processes with BPM technologies applicable for a specific maturity stage. There appears to be a strong relationship (0.78 with ORM process maturity and supporting BPM technologies. The B4ORM maturity model as described in this manuscript provides an ideal path of BPM technologies related to six distinctive stages of ORM, leading towards technologies suitable for continuous improvement of ORM processes and organization-wide integration.

  3. Self-assessment of human performance errors in nuclear operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chambliss, K.V.

    1996-01-01

    One of the most important approaches to improving nuclear safety is to have an effective self-assessment process in place, whose cornerstone is the identification and improvement of human performance errors. Experience has shown that significant events usually have had precursors of human performance errors. If these precursors are left uncorrected or not understood, the symptoms recur and result in unanticipated events of greater safety significance. The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) has been championing the cause of promoting excellence in human performance in the nuclear industry. INPO's report, open-quotes Excellence in Human Performance,close quotes emphasizes the importance of several factors that play a role in human performance. They include individual, supervisory, and organizational behaviors; real-time feedback that results in specific behavior to produce safe and reliable performance; and proactive measures that remove obstacles from excellent human performance. Zack Pate, chief executive officer and president of INPO, in his report, open-quotes The Control Room,close quotes provides an excellent discussion of serious events in the nuclear industry since 1994 and compares them with the results from a recent study by the National Transportation Safety Board of airline accidents in the 12-yr period from 1978 to 1990 to draw some common themes that relate to human performance issues in the control room

  4. Research on the performance evaluation of agricultural products supply chain integrated operation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Jiake; Wang, Xifu; Liu, Yang

    2017-04-01

    The agricultural product supply chain integrated operation can ensure the quality and efficiency of agricultural products, and achieve the optimal goal of low cost and high service. This paper establishes a performance evaluation index system of agricultural products supply chain integration operation based on the development status of agricultural products and SCOR, BSC and KPI model. And then, we constructing rough set theory and BP neural network comprehensive evaluation model with the aid of Rosetta and MATLAB tools and the case study is about the development of agricultural products integrated supply chain in Jing-Jin-Ji region. And finally, we obtain the corresponding performance results, and give some improvement measures and management recommendations to the managers.

  5. Does group affiliation improve firm performance? The case of Chinese State-owned firms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yu, Huanjun; van Ees, H.; Lensink, B.W.

    2009-01-01

    This paper analyses the performance of state-owned business groups in China. Group affiliation can be important for economic policy evaluation since the Chinese government promotes the formation of business groups as a first step in the process of reforming state enterprises into modern

  6. Does training of fellows affect peri-operative outcomes of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khene, Zine-Eddine; Peyronnet, Benoit; Bosquet, Elise; Pradère, Benjamin; Robert, Corentin; Fardoun, Tarek; Kammerer-Jacquet, Solène-Florence; Verhoest, Grégory; Rioux-Leclercq, Nathalie; Mathieu, Romain; Bensalah, Karim

    2017-10-01

    To evaluate the impact of fellows' involvement on the peri-operative outcomes of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN). We analysed 216 patients who underwent RAPN for a small renal tumour. We stratified our cohort into two groups according to the involvement of a fellow surgeon during the procedure: expert surgeon operating alone (expert group) and fellow operating under the supervision of the expert surgeon (fellow group). Peri-operative data were compared between the two groups. Linear and logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the impact of fellows' involvement on peri-operative and postoperative outcomes. Trifecta and margins ischaemia complications (MIC) score achievement rates were used to assess the quality of surgery in both the expert and fellow groups. Trifecta was defined as a combination of warm ischaemia time negative surgical margins and no peri-operative complications. MIC score was defined as negative surgical margins, ischaemia time Training fellows to perform RAPN is associated with longer operating time and WIT but does not appear to compromise other peri-operative outcomes. © 2017 The Authors BJU International © 2017 BJU International Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Modeling of HVAC operational faults in building performance simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Rongpeng; Hong, Tianzhen

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: •Discuss significance of capturing operational faults in existing buildings. •Develop a novel feature in EnergyPlus to model operational faults of HVAC systems. •Compare three approaches to faults modeling using EnergyPlus. •A case study demonstrates the use of the fault-modeling feature. •Future developments of new faults are discussed. -- Abstract: Operational faults are common in the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems of existing buildings, leading to a decrease in energy efficiency and occupant comfort. Various fault detection and diagnostic methods have been developed to identify and analyze HVAC operational faults at the component or subsystem level. However, current methods lack a holistic approach to predicting the overall impacts of faults at the building level—an approach that adequately addresses the coupling between various operational components, the synchronized effect between simultaneous faults, and the dynamic nature of fault severity. This study introduces the novel development of a fault-modeling feature in EnergyPlus which fills in the knowledge gap left by previous studies. This paper presents the design and implementation of the new feature in EnergyPlus and discusses in detail the fault-modeling challenges faced. The new fault-modeling feature enables EnergyPlus to quantify the impacts of faults on building energy use and occupant comfort, thus supporting the decision making of timely fault corrections. Including actual building operational faults in energy models also improves the accuracy of the baseline model, which is critical in the measurement and verification of retrofit or commissioning projects. As an example, EnergyPlus version 8.6 was used to investigate the impacts of a number of typical operational faults in an office building across several U.S. climate zones. The results demonstrate that the faults have significant impacts on building energy performance as well as on occupant

  8. Performance of Multithreaded Chip Multiprocessors And Implications for Operating System Design

    OpenAIRE

    Fedorova, Alexandra; Seltzer, Margo I.; Small, Christopher A.; Nussbaum, Daniel

    2005-01-01

    An operating system’s design is often influenced by the architecture of the target hardware. While uniprocessor and multiprocessor architectures are well understood, such is not the case for multithreaded chip multiprocessors (CMT) – a new generation of processors designed to improve performance of memory-intensive applications. The first systems equipped with CMT processors are just becoming available, so it is critical that we now understand how to obtain the best performance from such syst...

  9. Challenges of Measuring Performance of the Sales and Operations Planning Process

    OpenAIRE

    Hulthén, Hana; Näslund, Dag; Norrman, Andreas

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to identify and structure challenges of measuring performance of the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process. A multiple case study methodology was applied. Qualitative data was collected via 22 structured interviews with managers from six case companies in various industries. A process oriented framework was proposed by structuring the challenges based on two key areas of process performance (effectiveness and efficiency) and different maturity levels of the...

  10. [Primary, single-stage arterial switch operations at a newly-established, comprehensive congenital cardiac center performed in the neonatal age and beyond].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Király, László; Tamás, Csaba

    2015-06-21

    Outcome of arterial switch operation for transposition of the great arteries with/without ventricular septal defect is a service key-performance-indicator. The aim of the authors was to assess patient characteristics and parameters in the perioperative course. In the setting of a newly-established, comprehensive tertiary-care center, primary complete repair was performed including associated anomalies, e.g. transverse arch repairs. Patients with d-transposition were grouped according to coexistence of ventricular septal defect. 118 arterial switch operations were performed between 2007 and 2014 with 96.62% survival (114/118). Ventricular septal defect and repair of associated anomalies did not yield worse outcome. Left ventricular re-training with late presentation necessitated mechanical circulatory support for 4.5±1.5 days. D-transposition is suitable for standardization of clinical algorithm and surgical technique. Quality standards contribute to excellent outcomes, minimize complications, and serve as blueprint for other neonatal open-heart procedures. Availability of mechanical circulatory support is key for single-stage left ventricular re-training beyond the neonatal period.

  11. 78 FR 66419 - Seventy Sixth Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 147, Minimum Operational Performance Standards for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-05

    ... TCAS Program Office ACAS X Functional Architecture Verification & Validation Activities Overview [ssquf... [ssquf] Initial Actions [ssquf] Scheduling of teleconferences, etc. Working Group Sign-up Other Business... Paige Williams, Management Analyst, NextGen, Business Operations Group, Federal Aviation Administration...

  12. Performance and consistency of indicator groups in two biodiversity hotspots.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joaquim Trindade-Filho

    Full Text Available In a world limited by data availability and limited funds for conservation, scientists and practitioners must use indicator groups to define spatial conservation priorities. Several studies have evaluated the effectiveness of indicator groups, but still little is known about the consistency in performance of these groups in different regions, which would allow their a priori selection.We systematically examined the effectiveness and the consistency of nine indicator groups in representing mammal species in two top-ranked Biodiversity Hotspots (BH: the Brazilian Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest. To test for group effectiveness we first found the best sets of sites able to maximize the representation of each indicator group in the BH and then calculated the average representation of different target species by the indicator groups in the BH. We considered consistent indicator groups whose representation of target species was not statistically different between BH. We called effective those groups that outperformed the target-species representation achieved by random sets of species. Effective indicator groups required the selection of less than 2% of the BH area for representing target species. Restricted-range species were the most effective indicators for the representation of all mammal diversity as well as target species. It was also the only group with high consistency.We show that several indicator groups could be applied as shortcuts for representing mammal species in the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest to develop conservation plans, however, only restricted-range species consistently held as the most effective indicator group for such a task. This group is of particular importance in conservation planning as it captures high diversity of endemic and endangered species.

  13. Performance and consistency of indicator groups in two biodiversity hotspots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trindade-Filho, Joaquim; Loyola, Rafael Dias

    2011-01-01

    In a world limited by data availability and limited funds for conservation, scientists and practitioners must use indicator groups to define spatial conservation priorities. Several studies have evaluated the effectiveness of indicator groups, but still little is known about the consistency in performance of these groups in different regions, which would allow their a priori selection. We systematically examined the effectiveness and the consistency of nine indicator groups in representing mammal species in two top-ranked Biodiversity Hotspots (BH): the Brazilian Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest. To test for group effectiveness we first found the best sets of sites able to maximize the representation of each indicator group in the BH and then calculated the average representation of different target species by the indicator groups in the BH. We considered consistent indicator groups whose representation of target species was not statistically different between BH. We called effective those groups that outperformed the target-species representation achieved by random sets of species. Effective indicator groups required the selection of less than 2% of the BH area for representing target species. Restricted-range species were the most effective indicators for the representation of all mammal diversity as well as target species. It was also the only group with high consistency. We show that several indicator groups could be applied as shortcuts for representing mammal species in the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest to develop conservation plans, however, only restricted-range species consistently held as the most effective indicator group for such a task. This group is of particular importance in conservation planning as it captures high diversity of endemic and endangered species.

  14. Operation and Performance of the ATLAS Semiconductor Tracker

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barlow, Nick

    2013-06-01

    The ATLAS detector is the largest of the four main particle detectors at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Switzerland. A crucial requirement for it to accomplish its physics goals is efficient and precise tracking of charged particles in the region around the point where proton-proton collisions take place. This role is performed by the ATLAS Inner Detector, of which the Semiconductor Tracker (SCT) is a key component. I will briefly describe the design and layout of the SCT, before discussing the commissioning of the detector and its operation over the course of LHC Run 1. (authors)

  15. Operation and Performance of the ATLAS Semiconductor Tracker

    CERN Document Server

    Barlow, N; The ATLAS collaboration

    2013-01-01

    The ATLAS detector is the largest of the four main particle detectors at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Switzerland. A crucial requirement for it to accomplish its physics goals is efficient and precise tracking of charged particles in the region around the point where proton-proton collisions take place. This role is performed by the ATLAS Inner Detector, of which the Semiconductor Tracker (SCT) is a key component. I will briefly describe the design and layout of the SCT, before discussing the commissioning of the detector and its operation over the course of LHC Run 1.

  16. 78 FR 38093 - First Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 228-Minimum Operational Performance Standards for Unmanned...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-25

    ... Activity. SC-228 Scope and Terms of Reference. SC-228 Structure and Organization of Work. [cir] Working Group 1--Detect and Avoid (DAA) [cir] Working Group 2--Command and Control (C2) Other Business Date and..., Business Operations Group, ANG-A12, Federal Aviation Administration. [FR Doc. 2013-15139 Filed 6-24-13; 8...

  17. Performance of operating and advanced light water reactor designs. Proceedings of a technical committee meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-10-01

    , Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine, the European Commission and the IAEA. A total of 19 technical papers were presented in the following areas: design features and technical means for improving current LWRs; and development of new LWR designs and technologies with a focus on performance and economic viability. Key results concerning performance of current plants include the following: The European Commission (EC) is funding an extensive project in plant life management at a funding level of EURO 9.2 million within the 5th framework programme (1999-2002). This work is being co-ordinated with the IAEA through EC participation in the IAEA's International Working Group on Plant Life Management. Technical areas addressed include the following: integrity of equipment and structures; irradiation embrittlement; optimization of operational conditions focusing on corrosion issues; prediction of structural safety margins; optimization of operational conditions focusing on dynamic fluid-structure interactions; on-line monitoring, inspection and maintenance; organization and management of safety

  18. Evaluation of the Physiological Challenges in Extreme Environments: Implications for Enhanced Training, Operational Performance and Sex-Specific Responses

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-10-01

    Operational Performance and Sex -Specific Responses PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Brent C. Ruby CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION: The University of Montana Missoula...Implications for Enhanced Training, Operational Performance and Sex -Specific Responses 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT...Evaluation of the physiological challenges in extreme environments: Implications for enhanced training, operational performance and sex -specific

  19. Role of the C-E owner group in the nuclear industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gasper, J.K.

    1988-01-01

    The Combustion Engineering (C-E) owner group was formed in 1979 to address the technical and regulatory issues for plants with nuclear steam supply systems supplied by C-E that resulted from the accident at the Three Mile Island plant. The group addressed many of the immediate concerns from the accident including the response of C-E owner-group plants to small-break loss-of-coolant accidents, the use of power-operated relief valves, emergency operating procedure upgrades, as well as transient and accident responses. The group was successful in addressing these technical and regulatory issues with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in such a manner that C-E owner-group plants were not required to shut down or operate at reduced power levels. In recent years, the group has increasingly pursued programs for the benefit of its members rather than because of a regulatory commitment. The major current activities of the group are programs to support the design basis reconstruction of our member plants, improvements to emergency procedure guidelines, which are the basis for the emergency operating procedures used in our plants, a charging pump performance improvement program, various activities to reduce the number of unplanned reactor scrams at our plants, modeling of steam generator corrosion mechanisms to improve steam generator performance, and leak-before-break justification of reactor coolant system piping

  20. Effect of Resident Involvement on Operative Time and Operating Room Staffing Costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Robert William; Pruitt, Mark; Taaffe, Kevin M

    The operating room (OR) is a major driver of hospital costs; therefore, operative time is an expensive resource. The training of surgical residents must include time spent in the OR, but that experience comes with a cost to the surgeon and hospital. The objective of this article is to determine the effect of surgical resident involvement in the OR on operative time and subsequent hospital labor costs. The Kruskal-Wallis statistical test is used to determine whether or not there is a difference in operative times between 2 groups of cases (with residents and without residents). This difference leads to an increased cost in associated hospital labor costs for the group with the longer operative time. Cases were performed at Greenville Memorial Hospital. Greenville Memorial Hospital is part of the larger healthcare system, Greenville Health System, located in Greenville, SC and is a level 1 trauma center with up to 33 staffed ORs. A total of 84,997 cases were performed at the partnering hospital between January 1st, 2011 and July 31st, 2015. Cases were only chosen for analysis if there was only one CPT code associated with the case and there were more than 5 observations for each group being studied. This article presents a comprehensive retrospective analysis of 29,134 cases covering 246 procedures. The analysis shows that 45 procedures took significantly longer with a resident present in the room. The average increase in operative time was 4.8 minutes and the cost per minute of extra operative time was determined to be $9.57 per minute. OR labor costs at the partnering hospital was found to be $2,257,433, or $492,889 per year. Knowing the affect on operative time and OR costs allows managers to make smart decisions when considering alternative educational and training techniques. In addition, knowing the connection between residents in the room and surgical duration could help provide better estimates of surgical time in the future and increase the predictability of

  1. Competitively Distinct Operations as a Key for Superior and Sustainable Business Performance: An Example from Walmart

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Binod Timilsina

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Existing research on the resource-based view (RBV has provided limited evidence on how firms achieve superior and sustainable business performance; this failure is because current literature de-emphasizes the importance of operations. This paper argues that to gain and sustain superior business performance, a firm’s sustainable competitive advantage is not enough, its operations also needs to be competitively distinct. Therefore, through unifying the necessary conditions of superior and sustainable business performance the paper presents a better understanding of the RBV. The success story of Walmart, from existing literature, is considered as an example to support the proposed framework. The paper concludes that the cost of operations, opportunity cost, cost of resources and possible output are the crucial factors in resource choice and operations decision to secure competitively distinct operations. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications, research limitations and future research possibilities are discussed.

  2. High performance discharges near the operational limit in HT-7

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Jiangang; Wan Baonian; Luo Jiarong; Gao Xiang; Zhao Yanping; Kuang Guangli; Zhang Xiaodong; Yang Yu; Yi Bao; Bojiang Ding; Jikang Xie; Yuanxi Wan

    2001-01-01

    Efforts have been made on the HT-7 tokamak to extend the stable operation boundaries. Extensive RF boronization and siliconization have been used and a wider operational Hugill diagram has been obtained. The transit density reached 1.3 times the Greenwald density limit in ohmic discharges. A stationary high performance discharge with q a =2.1 has been obtained after siliconization. Confinement improvement was obtained as a result of the significant reduction of electron thermal diffusivity χ e in the outer region of the plasma. An improved confinement phase was also observed with LHCD in the density range of 70-120% of the Greenwald density limit. Off-axis LH wave power deposition was attributed to the weak hollow current density profile. Code simulations and measurements showed good agreement with the off-axis LH wave deposition. Supersonic molecular beam injection has been successfully used to achieve stable high density operation in the region of the Greenwald density limit. (author)

  3. RTO/RC ITER plasma performance: inductive and steady-state operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukhovatov, V.; Boucher, D.; Fujisawa, N.; Shimada, M.; Vayakis, G.; Janeschitz, G.; Matsumoto, H.; Leonov, V.; Polevoy, A.

    2000-01-01

    The plasma performance in two design options of the reduced-technical objectives/reduced cost (RTO/RC) ITER, i.e. IAM (intermediate aspect ratio machine) and LAM (low aspect ratio machine) is analysed. It is shown that Q=P fus /P aux ∼10 can be obtained in both options at inductively driven ELMy H-mode operation. The operation domain in LAM is found to be marginally larger than that in IAM. The non-inductive operation with Q approx.= 5 will be possible in both machines, provided a large amount of power with a high current drive efficiency is applied, or substantial improvement of the energy confinement time relative to the ELMy H-mode (H H =1.2-1.4) is obtained. The required values of H H and β N are marginally smaller in IAM. The IAM-like machine, ITER-FEAT (fusion energy advanced tokamak), proposed for a detailed engineering design is discussed in brief. (author)

  4. Group of local biholomorphisms of C/sup 1/ and conformal field theory on the operator formalism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Budzynski, R.J.; Klimek, S.; Sadowski, P.

    1989-01-01

    Motivated by the operator formulation of conformal field theory on Riemann surfaces, we study the properties of the infinite dimensional group of local biholomorphic transformations (conformal reparametrizations) of C/sup 1/ and develop elements of its representation theory.

  5. B and W owners group scram reduction efforts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rose, S.T.

    1985-01-01

    Reducing the frequency of reactor scrams is an important and highly visible task. Scram frequency is one indicator of how consistently a unit is operated within desired bounds and hence is a key performance indicator. To be successful and efficient in this undertaking, diligent effort by the individual utilities should be complimented by collective action to resolve generic problems. The Babcock and Wilcox (B and W) Owners Group is committed to improving the productivity of its operating units and, in particular, to reducing the number of scrams experienced at the units. Toward this goal, the owners group has undertaken several initiatives to improve the reliability and performance of systems that historically have reactor trips. This paper describes those efforts and how they were identified

  6. Study on the operational safety performance indicator of nuclear power plants in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Shirong

    2005-01-01

    The operational Safety Performance Indicator system (SPI) has been more and more regarded recently for their clear and effective characteristic in safety assessment for Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). A large developing plan for NPPs construction is being discussed and considered in P.R. China. As one of important nuclear country, China expects to ensure the normal operation of NPPs and improve the safety level. National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA), National Nuclear Regulatory Agency of China, has put high attention on safety and SPI area, and many endeavours and attempts have been done or being carried out for an establishment of SPI system in China. NNSA intends to build an integrated SPI system to monitor all of the NPPs operation in China, based on the SPI system currently used in the world. NNSA believes that the SPI system will help to more effectively enforce the function of surveillance and management. The paper will introduces the status of study on the operational safety performance indicator of Nuclear Power Plants in China. (author)

  7. EXPLORING LINKAGES BETWEEN MANUFACTURING FUNCTIONS, OPERATIONS PRIORITIES AND PLANT PERFORMANCE IN MANUFACTURING SMES IN MUMBAI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B.E. Narkhede

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, in order for small and medium scale enterprises to excel in performance, it is necessary to have congruency among the manufacturing functions and the operational priorities. In this paper a model is presented to know the relationship between the manufacturing functions, operation priorities and manufacturing performance. Using data collected from small and medium scale manufacturing enterprises in Mumbai and suburban region, this study examines the seven hypothesis based on the relationship between manufacturing functions, priorities and perfomance. The structural equation model is tested using Amos7 software to test the hypothesis. The results show that there exists a positive relation between manufacturing functions and operation priorities as four out of six the dimensions measured such as Process control and implementation, Management of resources, Management of people, and Partnership with supplier are positively related, while two dimensions Training and developing and Teamwork are not positively related. Findings also support strong impact of operation priorities with growth in productivity as a measure of performance.

  8. Applying lessons learned to enhance human performance and reduce human error for ISS operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nelson, W.R.

    1998-09-01

    A major component of reliability, safety, and mission success for space missions is ensuring that the humans involved (flight crew, ground crew, mission control, etc.) perform their tasks and functions as required. This includes compliance with training and procedures during normal conditions, and successful compensation when malfunctions or unexpected conditions occur. A very significant issue that affects human performance in space flight is human error. Human errors can invalidate carefully designed equipment and procedures. If certain errors combine with equipment failures or design flaws, mission failure or loss of life can occur. The control of human error during operation of the International Space Station (ISS) will be critical to the overall success of the program. As experience from Mir operations has shown, human performance plays a vital role in the success or failure of long duration space missions. The Department of Energy`s Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) is developed a systematic approach to enhance human performance and reduce human errors for ISS operations. This approach is based on the systematic identification and evaluation of lessons learned from past space missions such as Mir to enhance the design and operation of ISS. This paper describes previous INEEL research on human error sponsored by NASA and how it can be applied to enhance human reliability for ISS.

  9. Human error analysis project (HEAP) - The fourth pilot study: verbal data for analysis of operator performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braarud, Per Oeyvind; Droeyvoldsmo, Asgeir; Hollnagel, Erik

    1997-06-01

    This report is the second report from the Pilot study No. 4 within the Human Error Analyses Project (HEAP). The overall objective of HEAP is to provide a better understanding and explicit modelling of how and why ''cognitive errors'' occur. This study investigated the contribution from different verbal data sources for analysis of control room operator's performance. Operator's concurrent verbal report, retrospective verbal report, and process expert's comments were compared for their contribution to an operator performance measure. This study looked into verbal protocols for single operator and for team. The main findings of the study were that all the three verbal data sources could be used to study performance. There was a relative high overlap between the data sources, but also a unique contribution from each source. There was a common pattern in the types of operator activities the data sources gave information about. The operator's concurrent protocol overall contained slightly more information on the operator's activities than the other two verbal sources. The study also showed that concurrent verbal protocol is feasible and useful for analysis of team's activities during a scenario. (author)

  10. Towards a performance assessment methodology using computational simulation for air distribution system designs in operating rooms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Melhado, M.D.A.

    2012-01-01

    One of the important performance requirements for an air distribution system for an operating room (OR) is to provide good indoor environmental conditions in which to perform operations. Important conditions in this respect relate to the air quality and to the thermal conditions for the surgical

  11. The operational performance of “net zero energy building”: A study in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Zhihua; Feng, Lei; Zhang, Shuzhen; Wang, Chendong; Chen, Guanyi; Du, Tao; Li, Yasong; Zuo, Jian

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Choose energy efficiency technology in office building to implement “nZEB”. • Simulate its energy consumption. • Study on the operational performance. • Optimize its running. - Abstract: There is no lack of studies on “net zero energy buildings” (“nZEB”). However, the vast majority of these studies focus on theories and simulation. The actual operational performance of “net zero energy building” during occupation has been largely overlooked by previous studies. This study aims to investigate the operational performance of net “zero energy buildings” via the case study of an office building in Tianjin, China. Using simulation, the energy consumption of the building at design phase was estimated and a solar photovoltaic (PV) system was selected. A whole year operation of the occupied building showed that energy consumption of the case building was much higher than the energy generated from the solar PV system. This was mainly due to three issues. Firstly, the equipment was different in terms of category, quantity and running time between operation and design stages, leading to considerable underestimate of energy consumption at the design stage. Secondly, the operational strategies need to be further improved in order to regulate users’ behaviors. Thirdly, the efficiency of solar PV system was substantially reduced due to poor atmospheric environment (i.e. haze weather). Therefore, during the design process of “net zero energy buildings”, it is imperative to ensure that the energy simulation accurately reflects how the building will actually operate once occupied. The research also revealed other barriers to the design and implementation of “nZEB” in China, such as extra efforts required for effective communicating the capacity of the HVAC design and systems to clients, and the increased cost of “nZEB” (e.g. solar PV system) particularly for public buildings. Finally, the solar radiation intensity of standard

  12. Outsourcing and its impact on operational objectives and performance: a study of Iranian telecommunication industries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amir Reza Khaki

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Through outsourcing, a company can expand and develop its sources and capacities by accessing to higher quality services and better functionality. This paper deals with the perception of the managers of the telecommunication industry sector on the effects of outsourcing on operational strategy and especially on the issues associated with cost reduction, developed quality, flexibility and better service. Because of the importance of the strategic feature of outsourcing, we examined its effects on the organizational function of the telecommunication industries. This study shows that managers believe that outsourcing has a great impact not only on the cost reduction but also on other goals of operational strategies, which makes outsourcing become inherently more strategic. In addition, it seems that outsourcing influences function noticeably. In the present research, the relationships between propensity to outsourcing and operational objectives and organizational performance in telecommunication industries are assessed. The aim of this research is to examine the propensity to outsourcing and its impacts on operational objectives including cost reduction, improved quality, flexibility and better service and organizational performance, which includes financial performance and non-financial performance. In the research, data are collected through field research and questionnaires. The questionnaires are distributed among the board of directors, quality managers, operational administrators, and lower managers and then the feedbacks are analyzed using SPSS and Minitab software based on deductive and descriptive statistics.

  13. Science-based HRA: experimental comparison of operator performance to IDAC (Information-Decision-Action Crew) simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shirley, Rachel [The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States); Smidts, Carol [The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States); Boring, Ronald [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Li, Yuandan [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Mosleh, Ali [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)

    2015-02-01

    Information-Decision-Action Crew (IDAC) operator model simulations of a Steam Generator Tube Rupture are compared to student operator performance in studies conducted in the Ohio State University’s Nuclear Power Plant Simulator Facility. This study is presented as a prototype for conducting simulator studies to validate key aspects of Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) methods. Seven student operator crews are compared to simulation results for crews designed to demonstrate three different decision-making strategies. The IDAC model used in the simulations is modified slightly to capture novice behavior rather that expert operators. Operator actions and scenario pacing are compared. A preliminary review of available performance shaping factors (PSFs) is presented. After the scenario in the NPP Simulator Facility, student operators review a video of the scenario and evaluate six PSFs at pre-determined points in the scenario. This provides a dynamic record of the PSFs experienced by the OSU student operators. In this preliminary analysis, Time Constraint Load (TCL) calculated in the IDAC simulations is compared to TCL reported by student operators. We identify potential modifications to the IDAC model to develop an “IDAC Student Operator Model.” This analysis provides insights into how similar experiments could be conducted using expert operators to improve the fidelity of IDAC simulations.

  14. An Ergonomic Study on Influence of Touch-screen Phone Size on Single-hand Operation Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhu Rui

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Touch-screen smart phones have gradually occupied the market of traditional Qwerty Phones and become the mainstream products of mobile phone industry. However, few ergonomics research has been conducted on the touch screens of smart phones, while it has led to tendosynovitis among users owing to the overuse of thumbs. Sizes of smart phones in market range from 3.0 to 7.0 inches. What’s more, 4.0 inches and above are the common size of current touch screens. Also, considering the users’ habits, one-hand operation is preferred when the other hand is occupied. This paper has collected hand parameters of 80 subjects and has adopted an experiment which includes the performance testing and surveys of subjective evaluation by means of usability evaluation. After analysing correlation between touch-screen sizes and operation performances, the result indicates that under one-hand operation, the size of touch screen affects the operation performance significantly. However, it’s hard to implement one-hand operation if the touch-screen size is over 5.7 inches. Additionally, the thickness of smart phones affects the degree of comfort remarkably.

  15. Implementing Kanban for agile process management within the ALMA Software Operations Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reveco, Johnny; Mora, Matias; Shen, Tzu-Chiang; Soto, Ruben; Sepulveda, Jorge; Ibsen, Jorge

    2014-07-01

    After the inauguration of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Software Operations Group in Chile has refocused its objectives to: (1) providing software support to tasks related to System Integration, Scientific Commissioning and Verification, as well as Early Science observations; (2) testing the remaining software features, still under development by the Integrated Computing Team across the world; and (3) designing and developing processes to optimize and increase the level of automation of operational tasks. Due to their different stakeholders, each of these tasks presents a wide diversity of importances, lifespans and complexities. Aiming to provide the proper priority and traceability for every task without stressing our engineers, we introduced the Kanban methodology in our processes in order to balance the demand on the team against the throughput of the delivered work. The aim of this paper is to share experiences gained during the implementation of Kanban in our processes, describing the difficulties we have found, solutions and adaptations that led us to our current but still evolving implementation, which has greatly improved our throughput, prioritization and problem traceability.

  16. Time headway in car following and operational performance during unexpected braking

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brouwer, W.H.; van Winsum, W.

    The relation between car-following behaviour and braking performance was studied in a driving simulator. The theoretical perspective was that individual differences in tactical car-driving behaviour may be related to skills on the operational level of the driving task via a process of adaptation. In

  17. The ALICE Transition Radiation Detector: construction, operation, and performance

    OpenAIRE

    Acharya, Shreyasi; Adam, Jaroslav; Ahmad, Nazeer; Bhattacharjee, Buddhadeb; Turrisi, Rosario; Tveter, Trine Spedstad; Ullaland, Kjetil; Umaka, Ejiro Naomi; Uras, Antonio; Usai, Gianluca; Utrobicic, Antonija; Vala, Martin; Van Der Maarel, Jasper; Van Hoorne, Jacobus Willem; Bhom, Jihyun

    2018-01-01

    The Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) was designed and built to enhance the capabilities of the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). While aimed at providing electron identification and triggering, the TRD also contributes significantly to the track reconstruction and calibration in the central barrel of ALICE. In this paper the design, construction, operation, and performance of this detector are discussed. A pion rejection factor of up to 410 is achieved at a momentum of 1 G...

  18. Effects of communication strategy training on EFL students’ performance in small-group discussions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stuart Benson

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, a number of studies have been conducted with regard to communication strategy training and performance on communicative tasks (Lam, 2009; Nakatani, 2010; Naughton, 2006. This study aims to add to the literature by examining how two strategies, clarifying/confirming and extending a conversation, and two methods of teaching the strategies, affected the interactional sequences and overall group discussion performance of EFL students at a university in Japan. Pre and posttreatment small-group discussions were recorded for assessment, and a stimulated recall interview was administered to determine the participants’ perceptions of their learning and language use. Posttest results reveal that the experimental groups that were taught predetermined phrases aimed at clarifying/confirming and extending a conversation employed such phrases more frequently than the control group. However, this employment of phrases did not lead to higher gains in group discussion skills as the control group enjoyed the largest gains from pre to posttest. The researchers consider the findings in light of previous research, and conclude with recommendations for future research on the topic with special regard to research design.

  19. Operation performance investigation of ground-coupled heat-pump system for temperate region

    OpenAIRE

    Yi Man; Hongxing Yang; Jinggang Wang; Zhaohong Fang

    2010-01-01

    In order to investigate the operation performance of ground-coupled heat-pump (GCHP) system, an analytical simulation model of GCHP system on short time-step basis and a computer program based on this model to predict system operating parameters are developed in this study. Besides, detailed on-site experiments on GCHP test rig installed in a temperate region of China are carried out. The temperature distributions of borehole as well as ground around borehole at different depths are evaluated...

  20. Recent operational performance of the CERN Omega Ring Imaging Cerenkov Detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Apsimon, R.J.; Flower, P.S.; Freeston, K.A.

    1985-10-01

    We discuss the design and construction of the Time Projection chambers (TPCs) of the Omega Ring Imaging Cerenkov Detector (RICH). Details are given of the TPC high voltage system and its monitoring and control. In addition, the operation and monitoring of the readout is described together with results of tests on the performance of the front end amplifiers. The operation of the RICH TPCs and electronics during the first data run of WA69, in 1984, is discussed together with relevant results from laboratory tests. Results from the preliminary analysis of a sample of data from the 1984 run are also presented

  1. The Analysis Performance Method Naive Bayes Andssvm Determine Pattern Groups of Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sitanggang, Rianto; Tulus; Situmorang, Zakarias

    2017-12-01

    Information is a very important element and into the daily needs of the moment, to get a precise and accurate information is not easy, this research can help decision makers and make a comparison. Researchers perform data mining techniques to analyze the performance of methods and algorithms naïve Bayes methods Smooth Support Vector Machine (ssvm) in the grouping of the disease.The pattern of disease that is often suffered by people in the group can be in the detection area of the collection of information contained in the medical record. Medical records have infromasi disease by patients in coded according to standard WHO. Processing of medical record data to find patterns of this group of diseases that often occur in this community take the attribute address, sex, type of disease, and age. Determining the next analysis is grouping of four ersebut attribute. From the results of research conducted on the dataset fever diabete mellitus, naïve Bayes method produces an average value of 99% and an accuracy and SSVM method produces an average value of 93% accuracy

  2. Do Dental Students' Personality Types and Group Dynamics Affect Their Performance in Problem-Based Learning?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ihm, Jung-Joon; An, So-Youn; Seo, Deog-Gyu

    2017-06-01

    The aim of this study was to determine whether the personality types of dental students and their group dynamics were linked to their problem-based learning (PBL) performance. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) instrument was used with 263 dental students enrolled in Seoul National University School of Dentistry from 2011 to 2013; the students had participated in PBL in their first year. A four-session PBL setting was designed to analyze how individual personality types and the diversity of their small groups were associated with PBL performance. Overall, the results showed that the personality type of PBL performance that was the most prominent was Judging. As a group became more diverse with its different constituent personality characteristics, there was a tendency for the group to be higher ranked in terms of PBL performance. In particular, the overperforming group was clustered around three major profiles: Extraverted Intuitive Thinking Judging (ENTJ), Introverted Sensing Thinking Judging (ISTJ), and Extraverted Sensing Thinking Judging (ESTJ). Personality analysis would be beneficial for dental faculty members in order for them to understand the extent to which cooperative learning would work smoothly, especially when considering group personalities.

  3. Extending the application range of a fuel performance code from normal operating to design basis accident conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Uffelen, P.; Gyori, C.; Schubert, A.; Laar, J. van de; Hozer, Z.; Spykman, G.

    2008-01-01

    Two types of fuel performance codes are generally being applied, corresponding to the normal operating conditions and the design basis accident conditions, respectively. In order to simplify the code management and the interface between the codes, and to take advantage of the hardware progress it is favourable to generate a code that can cope with both conditions. In the first part of the present paper, we discuss the needs for creating such a code. The second part of the paper describes an example of model developments carried out by various members of the TRANSURANUS user group for coping with a loss of coolant accident (LOCA). In the third part, the validation of the extended fuel performance code is presented for LOCA conditions, whereas the last section summarises the present status and indicates needs for further developments to enable the code to deal with reactivity initiated accident (RIA) events

  4. [Observation on analgesia effect of electroacupuncture during gynecologic outpatient operation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiao-Hui; Wu, Xue-Lei; Jin, Ping-Lin; Wang, Lu-Dong; Zhao, Zhi-En; Qin, Xue-Yu; Zhang, Zhi-Yan; Hu, Xue-Zhu; Cai, Zhen-Lin

    2012-10-01

    To verify the feasibility of electroacupuncture analgesia applied to gynecologic outpatient operation. Two hundred patients were randomly divided into an electroacupuncture analgesia group and an intravenous anesthesia group, 100 cases in each group. Operation types included artificial abortion, diagnostic curettage and remove of intrauterine divice. The electroacupuncture analgesia group was treated with electroacupuncture at bilateral Hegu (LI 4) and Neiguan (PC 6), and the routine gynecologic outpatient operation was performed under patients' waking state. The intravenous anesthesia group was treated with routine gynecologic outpatient operation after intravenous injection of fentanyl and propofol. The excellent rate and the effective rate of analgesia were 88.0% (88/100) and 100.0% (100/100) in the electroacupuncture analgesia group, and 94.0% (94/100) and 100.0% (100/100) in the intravenous anesthesia group, with no statistically significant differences between the two groups (all P > 0.05). There was no adverse reaction in the electroacupuncture anesthesia group, but 11 cases of adverse reactions in the intravenous anesthesia group. Electroacupuncture analgesia can effectively alleviate the pain during gynecologic outpatient operation and it is simple and safe without adverse reactions.

  5. Technological Advances, Human Performance, and the Operation of Nuclear Facilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corrado, Jonathan K.

    Many unfortunate and unintended adverse industrial incidents occur across the United States each year, and the nuclear industry is no exception. Depending on their severity, these incidents can be problematic for people, the facilities, and surrounding environments. Human error is a contributing factor in many such incidents. This dissertation first explored the hypothesis that technological changes that affect how operators interact within the systems of the nuclear facilities exacerbate the cost of incidents caused by human error. I conducted a review of nuclear incidents in the United States from 1955 through 2010 that reached Level 3 (serious incident) or higher on the International Nuclear Events Scale (INES). The cost of each incident at facilities that had recently undergone technological changes affecting plant operators' jobs was compared to the cost of events at facilities that had not undergone changes. A t-test determined a statistically significant difference between the two groups, confirming the hypothesis. Next, I conducted a follow-on study to determine the impact of the incorporation of new technologies into nuclear facilities. The data indicated that spending more money on upgrades increased the facility's capacity as well as the number of incidents reported, but the incident severity was minor. Finally, I discuss the impact of human error on plant operations and the impact of evolving technology on the 21st-century operator, proposing a methodology to overcome these challenges by applying the systems engineering process.

  6. Factors affecting research productivity of production and operations management groups: An empirical study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper identifies factors that promote research productivity of production and operations management (POM groups of researchers in US business schools. In this study, research productivity of a POM group is defined as the number of articles published per POM professor in a specific period of time. The paper also examines factors that affect research quality, as measured by the number of articles published per POM professor in journals, which have been recognized in the POM literature as an elite set. The results show that three factors increase both the research productivity and the quality of the articles published by professors of a POM group. These factors are (a the presence of a POM research center, (b funding received from external sources for research purposes, and (c better library facilities. Doctoral students do assist in improving research quality and productivity, but they are not the driving force. These results have important implications for establishing policy guidelines for business schools. For example, real-world problems are funded by external sources and have a higher probability of publication. Furthermore, schools could place more emphasis on external funding, as most engineering schools do, since groups receiving external funding are more productive in terms of research.

  7. Group in-course assessment promotes cooperative learning and increases performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pratten, Margaret K; Merrick, Deborah; Burr, Steven A

    2014-01-01

    The authors describe and evaluate a method to motivate medical students to maximize the effectiveness of dissection opportunities by using In-Course-Assessments (ICAs) to encourage teamwork. A student's final mark was derived by combining the group dissection mark, group mark for questions, and their individual question mark. An analysis of the impact of the ICA was performed by comparing end of module practical summative marks in student cohorts who had, or had not, participated in the ICAs. Summative marks were compared by two-way ANOVA followed by Dunnets test, or by repeated measures ANOVA, as appropriate. A cohort of medical students was selected that had experienced both practical classes without (year one) and with the new ICA structure (year two). Comparison of summative year one and year two marks illustrated an increased improvement in year two performance in this cohort. A significant increase was also noted when comparing this cohort with five preceding year two cohorts who had not experienced the ICAs (P learning resources in an active, team-based, cooperative learning environment. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.

  8. Defining the Intrinsic Cardiac Risks of Operations to Improve Preoperative Cardiac Risk Assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jason B; Liu, Yaoming; Cohen, Mark E; Ko, Clifford Y; Sweitzer, Bobbie J

    2018-02-01

    Current preoperative cardiac risk stratification practices group operations into broad categories, which might inadequately consider the intrinsic cardiac risks of individual operations. We sought to define the intrinsic cardiac risks of individual operations and to demonstrate how grouping operations might lead to imprecise estimates of perioperative cardiac risk. Elective operations (based on Common Procedural Terminology codes) performed from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2015 at hospitals participating in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program were studied. A composite measure of perioperative adverse cardiac events was defined as either cardiac arrest requiring cardiopulmonary resuscitation or acute myocardial infarction. Operations' intrinsic cardiac risks were derived from mixed-effects models while controlling for patient mix. Resultant risks were sorted into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk categories, and the most commonly performed operations within each category were identified. Intrinsic operative risks were also examined using a representative grouping of operations to portray within-group variation. Sixty-six low, 30 intermediate, and 106 high intrinsic cardiac risk operations were identified. Excisional breast biopsy had the lowest intrinsic cardiac risk (overall rate, 0.01%; odds ratio, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.25) relative to the average, whereas aorto-bifemoral bypass grafting had the highest (overall rate, 4.1%; odds ratio, 6.61; 95% CI, 5.54 to 7.90). There was wide variation in the intrinsic cardiac risks of operations within the representative grouping (median odds ratio, 1.40; interquartile range, 0.88 to 2.17). A continuum of intrinsic cardiac risk exists among operations. Grouping operations into broad categories inadequately accounts for the intrinsic cardiac risk of individual operations.

  9. The Effect of Degraded Digital Instrumentation and Control systems on Human-system Interfaces and Operator Performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Hara, J.M.; Gunther, B.; Martinez-Guridi, G.; Xing, J.; Barnes, V.

    2010-01-01

    Integrated digital instrumentation and control (I and C) systems in new and advanced nuclear power plants (NPPs) will support operators in monitoring and controlling the plants. Even though digital systems typically are expected to be reliable, their potential for degradation or failure significantly could affect the operators performance and, consequently, jeopardize plant safety. This U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) research investigated the effects of degraded I and C systems on human performance and on plant operations. The objective was to develop technical basis and guidance for human factors engineering (HFE) reviews addressing the operator's ability to detect and manage degraded digital I and C conditions. We reviewed pertinent standards and guidelines, empirical studies, and plant operating experience. In addition, we evaluated the potential effects of selected failure modes of the digital feedwater control system of a currently operating pressurized water reactor (PWR) on human-system interfaces (HSIs) and the operators performance. Our findings indicated that I and C degradations are prevalent in plants employing digital systems, and the overall effects on the plant's behavior can be significant, such as causing a reactor trip or equipment to operate unexpectedly. I and C degradations may affect the HSIs used by operators to monitor and control the plant. For example, deterioration of the sensors can complicate the operators interpretation of displays, and sometimes may mislead them by making it appear that a process disturbance has occurred. We used the findings as the technical basis upon which to develop HFE review guidance.

  10. Effects of operator time pressure and noise on manual ultrasonic testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Enkvist, J.; Edland, A.; Svenson, O.

    2002-01-01

    In earlier studies of manual ultrasonic testing, great variations have been found in operator performance, often attributed to operator fatigue. However, no conclusive findings have been reported. In the present study, twenty operators performed manual ultrasonic inspections of six test-pieces with manufactured flaws. The operators performed the inspections under stress (high arousal - time pressure and noise) and no-stress conditions; one condition the first day and the other the second and last day. According to the Yerkes-Dodson Law there is an optimal arousal level where performance is highest. It was hypothesised that the stress condition led to a level of arousal so high that it would affect the results negatively. However, contrary to the hypotheses it was found that the manipulation increased operator performance. Operators with the stress condition day 1 performed better than the other operators (under the no-stress condition). This was interpreted as the 'stress first' (group 1) operators had established efficient performance patterns the first day - affecting also the second day. Operators beginning with stress condition also tended to be more motivated. It was concluded that operator performance is affected by arousal. (author)

  11. Constructing an Evaluation Framework for Eco-Museum Operations-Management Performance, Based on the Case of Jhushan, Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuo-Wei Hsu

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The bamboo-art industry in Taiwan’s Jhushan Township is inseparable from local life. In the face of local industrial-development difficulties in smaller towns, the Taiwan government aimed to achieve a range of (redevelopment goals using eco-museums as collaboration platforms and required such museums to combine their operations management with cultural preservation, local industrial development, and local residents’ goals. As such, the likely future performance of such operations management has emerged as a crucially important factor in decision-making about whether such museums should be constructed. This study, therefore, reviews the relevant literature on the operations-management performance of museums, with special attention to eco-museums, and proposes an operations-management performance measurement framework for eco-museums based on that review and a two-stage questionnaire administered to experts. The first stage utilized the Fuzzy Delphi Method, which focuses on impact factors, and the second, the Analytica Network Process Method, deals with performance factors. The results indicate that the key impacts on the performance of eco-museums and their operations management were, in order of importance, (1 community symbiosis, (2 cultural inheritance, and (3 regional revitalization. The preservation of cultural heritage, local identity, and community participation are the most important criteria in the operations management of eco-museums, and Jhushan Town can promote such museums through these guidelines.

  12. Seating Arrangement, Group Composition and Competition-driven Interaction: Effects on Students' Performance in Physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roxas, R. M.; Monterola, C.; Carreon-Monterola, S. L.

    2010-01-01

    We probe the effect of seating arrangement, group composition and group-based competition on students' performance in Physics using a teaching technique adopted from Mazur's peer instruction method. Ninety eight lectures, involving 2339 students, were conducted across nine learning institutions from February 2006 to June 2009. All the lectures were interspersed with student interaction opportunities (SIO), in which students work in groups to discuss and answer concept tests. Two individual assessments were administered before and after the SIO. The ratio of the post-assessment score to the pre-assessment score and the Hake factor were calculated to establish the improvement in student performance. Using actual assessment results and neural network (NN) modeling, an optimal seating arrangement for a class was determined based on student seating location. The NN model also provided a quantifiable method for sectioning students. Lastly, the study revealed that competition-driven interactions increase within-group cooperation and lead to higher improvement on the students' performance.

  13. Evaluation of Maintenance and EOL Operation Performance of Sensor-Embedded Laptops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehmet Talha Dulman

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Sensors are commonly employed to monitor products during their life cycles and to remotely and continuously track their usage patterns. Installing sensors into products can help generate useful data related to the conditions of products and their components, and this information can subsequently be used to inform EOL decision-making. As such, embedded sensors can enhance the performance of EOL product processing operations. The information collected by the sensors can also be used to estimate and predict product failures, thereby helping to improve maintenance operations. This paper describes a study in which system maintenance and EOL processes were combined and closed-loop supply chain systems were constructed to analyze the financial contribution that sensors can make to these procedures by using discrete event simulation to model and compare regular systems and sensor-embedded systems. The factors that had an impact on the performance measures, such as disassembly cost, maintenance cost, inspection cost, sales revenues, and profitability, were determined and a design of experiments study was carried out. The experiment results were compared, and pairwise t-tests were executed. The results reveal that sensor-embedded systems are significantly superior to regular systems in terms of the identified performance measures.

  14. Invariant differential operators for non-compact Lie groups: an introduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobrev, V.K.

    2015-01-01

    In the present paper we review the progress of the project of classification and construction of invariant differential operators for non-compact semisimple Lie groups. Our starting points is the class of algebras, which we called earlier 'conformal Lie algebras' (CLA), which have very similar properties to the conformal algebras of Minkowski space-time, though our aim is to go beyond this class in a natural way. For this we introduced recently the new notion of parabolic relation between two non-compact semisimple Lie algebras G and G' that have the same complexification and possess maximal parabolic subalgebras with the same complexification. In the present paper we consider in detail the orthogonal algebras so(p,q) all of which are parabolically related to the conformal algebra so(n,2) with p+q=n+2, the parabolic subalgebras including the Lorentz subalgebra so(n-1,1) and its analogs so(p-1,q-1)

  15. On the labeling and symmetry adaptation of the solvable finite groups representations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caride, A.O.; Zanette, S.I.; Nogueira, S.R.A.

    1987-01-01

    We propose a method to simultaneously perform a symmetry adaptation and a labeling of the bases of the irreducible representations of the solvable finite groups. It is performed by difining a self-adjoint operator with ligenvalues which evidence the descent in symmetry of the group-subgroups sequences. We also prove two theorems on the canonicity of the cpomposition series of the solvable groups. (author) [pt

  16. Comparison of the Effect of Noise Levels on Stress Response in Two Different Operation Groups in an Orthopedic Surgery Room

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasibe Baytan Yildiz

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this randomized, single-blinded study was to evaluate the effects of noise on hemodynamic and neuroendocrine stress response by measuring the level of noise in the surgery rooms of patients undergoing knee operations under neuroaxial anesthesia. Gerec ve Yontem: We compared patient responses from two groups of patients: those undergoing knee operations in a surgery room where the noise level (measured in decibels is high, and those undergoing meniscus operations in a surgery room with lower noise levels. The STAI, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-1, and the anxiety test (STAI-2wereperformed at preoperative and postoperative periods. 20 ml of blood sample was taken for basal, intraoperative 30th minute, and postoperative 1st hour measurements. Systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures were found to be higher in the high noise level group. ACTH levels were increased during the early postoperative period and became normal during the late postoperative period in the high noise level group whereas ACTH levels were significantly decreased in the low-noise level group. Basal cortisol levels were significantly higher in the high noise level group. HCRP, an inflammatory response mediator was found to be decreased in both groups. Early and late blood glucose levels were significantly higher in the high noise group. There was a greater increase in early and late blood glucose levels in the high noise group. In the postoperative period, although the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI-2 levels being higher in patients subject to noisier environment determines how people feel independent of the conditions and state they are in, this result made us consider that the noise the patients were subjected to in the intraoperative period may cause a stress response. Discussion: As a result we believe that standard noise levels should be achieved by reducing the factors causing high noise levels in the operating room. This will

  17. International conference on the operational safety performance in nuclear installations. Contributed papers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-01-01

    In 2001, the IAEA organized an 'International Conference on Topical Issues in Nuclear Safety'. The issues discussed during the conference were: (1) risk- informed decision-making; (2) influence of external factors on safety; (3) safety of fuel cycle facilities; (4) safety of research reactors; and (5) safety performance indicators. Senior nuclear safety decision makers reviewed the issues and formulated recommendations for future actions by national and international organizations. In 2004, the IAEA organized an 'International Conference on Topical Issues in Nuclear Safety' in Beijing China. The issues discussed during the conference were: (1) changing environment - coping with diversity and globalization; (2) operating experience - managing changes effectively; (3) regulatory management systems - adapting to changes in the environment; and (4) long term operations - maintaining safety margins while extending plant lifetimes. The results of this conference confirmed the importance of operators and regulators of nuclear facilities meeting periodically to share experience and opinion on emerging issues and future challenges of the nuclear industry. Substantial progress has been made, and continues to be made by Member States in enhancing the safety of nuclear installations worldwide. At the same time, more attention is being given to other areas of nuclear safety. The safety standards for research reactors are being updated and new standards are planned on the safety of other facilities in the nuclear fuel cycle. The Agency has taken a lead role in this effort and is receiving much support from its Member States to gain international consensus in these areas. The objective of the conference is to foster the exchange of information on operational safety performance and operating experience in nuclear installations, with the aim of consolidating an international consensus on: - the present status of these issues; - emerging issues with international implications

  18. COMMISSIONING AND DETECTOR PERFORMANCE GROUPS

    CERN Document Server

    T. Camporesi

    The major progress made during the last months has been in the consolidation of services for the +endcaps and three barrel wheels (YB+2, YB+1 and YB0): all subdetectors have now final power connections (including Detector Safety protection), the gas systems have been commissioned for all gas detectors (the recirculation is not yet activated for the RPC though) and detector cooling has also been commissioned. Their integration with final services is the necessary condition for being able to operate larger fractions the detector. Recent weeks have seen full HCAL, more than 50% of EB and full wheels of DTs and CSC being operated using final services. This has not yet translated into major progress of global integration due to major interruptions of central services, which have not allowed the necessary debugging and commissioning time to all the subdetec¬tors and central activities like DAQ and trigger. Moreover the running in of the final central services has introduced instabilities related to the co...

  19. Classifying human operator functional state based on electrophysiological and performance measures and fuzzy clustering method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jian-Hua; Peng, Xiao-Di; Liu, Hua; Raisch, Jörg; Wang, Ru-Bin

    2013-12-01

    The human operator's ability to perform their tasks can fluctuate over time. Because the cognitive demands of the task can also vary it is possible that the capabilities of the operator are not sufficient to satisfy the job demands. This can lead to serious errors when the operator is overwhelmed by the task demands. Psychophysiological measures, such as heart rate and brain activity, can be used to monitor operator cognitive workload. In this paper, the most influential psychophysiological measures are extracted to characterize Operator Functional State (OFS) in automated tasks under a complex form of human-automation interaction. The fuzzy c-mean (FCM) algorithm is used and tested for its OFS classification performance. The results obtained have shown the feasibility and effectiveness of the FCM algorithm as well as the utility of the selected input features for OFS classification. Besides being able to cope with nonlinearity and fuzzy uncertainty in the psychophysiological data it can provide information about the relative importance of the input features as well as the confidence estimate of the classification results. The OFS pattern classification method developed can be incorporated into an adaptive aiding system in order to enhance the overall performance of a large class of safety-critical human-machine cooperative systems.

  20. Performance and operation experience of the Atlas Semiconductor Tracker and Pixel Detector at the LHC.

    CERN Document Server

    Stanecka, E; The ATLAS collaboration

    2013-01-01

    After more than 3 years of successful operation at the LHC, we report on the operation and performance of the ATLAS Pixel Detector and Semi-Conductor Tracker (SCT) functioning in a high luminosity, high radiation environment.